Aincrad's Executioner
by VaranFall
Summary: Trapped in a game with the threat of death and some of the biggest rejects the world has? No problem. Endless mobs, ridiculous bosses, murder guilds? Bring it on. Social interaction... needs work. Repressed issues inside a total asshole with little pity for idiots? Sign me the hell up!
1. A Game of Death

"And the NerveGear plugs in, here." A boy said to himself as he finished setting up the equipment. The room he was in was dark, with the curtains closed and a single light shined on the expensive VR gear. Most of him wasn't visible, aside from his lightly tanned hands that were moving the headgear around, plugging a cord into the back.

Once it was plugged, the boy turned to look at his computer, seeing that Sword Art Online had finished downloading. A small chuckle came from him, as he placed the NerveGear onto his head and laid onto the bed. A calming breath was then heard as he prepared himself for his first dive into the critically acclaimed VRMMO. It was nerve-racking, but he did make a promise to play it, so he was going to go through with it.

"Link Start."

In the moments that followed, the boy's mind was then linked to the NerveGear, all the flashing lights temporarily overwhelming him. It was only a few seconds for the boot up and loading, but it felt like ten minutes before he entered the avatar screen. It was hard to tell how he felt, but it seemed as if he was floating simple in an empty space, reaching out to customize his character.

The design was simple, a tall male at about six feet in height with silver hair and blue eyes. The clothes color was left to his choice, with him setting his tunic to be maroon red and his trousers and shoes black. After that he was given the choice of his starting weapon, which he selected a one-handed axe.

And finally, the choice for his Username came up. And as it did, to what appeared to him a small keyboard appeared. And with it, he typed in the choice of his name.

 **Nadar**

Several more bright flashes went through him, his ability to process the data incapable of keeping up until suddenly it was all gone. And in place of it, a town made of well-crafted vibrant stones.

In the midst of the flashes, he had put his hands up in a means to protect himself, leaving him to look ridiculous once he came out. As he lowered his arms, he took in all the scenery that surrounded him.

As players began to log in, dozens to hundreds at a time, Nadar knew he'd be impossible to be seen among the group. So to try and find his friends, he headed out of the courtyard spawn and towards one of the routes that would lead out of the town.

From there, he started to wait for when his friends would find him. He told them what his Username would be, so he'd keep an eye on his messages in case they tried to communicate with him.

After almost ten minutes, he felt a tap on his shoulder, getting him to jump away and turn. In front of him was a group of four players, three guys of various heights, each with black hair while two had brown eyes and the third had red. The fourth was a girl, who's avatar stood much shorter than the guys with had pink hair and eyes.

"Jumpy as usual, eh Nadar?" The tallest in the group said, smirking at the boy's jump.

Nadar felt slight annoyance at seeing the four, his eyes half lidded as he looked at them. "Very funny you four. What took you all so long?"

"Well, we were waiting for you at the weapon merchant." The smaller boy with red eyes answered.

The girl in the group then grinned, leaning towards Nadar as he realized his mistake. "Yeah, you know, like how we had it planned before getting this game?"

"R-right." Nadar responded, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry I… forgot during the dive process."

"It can be a little overwhelming the first time, but come on man!" The third guy in the group said, energy in his voice. "It isn't that difficult to collect yourself. I mean, aren't you supposed to be the brains here?"

"I think that's PoH's job, actually." Nadar commented, turning to the tallest in the group. "What does that even stand for? That's the second time you've used that name, but I don't get it."

PoH chuckled in response, shaking his head as he did. "Maybe when we've done three games. You're still new to our little group."

"I mean, I know Sar-gah! I mean Serana in the real world!" Nadar spoke, getting interrupted as the girl elbowed his stomach.

"I know this is your first MMO, but there's no way I should have to explain why you can't just say someone's real name." Serana said. "Even XaXa and Johnny know that, and they're knuckle heads that think with their blades rather than their brains."

"Heeeeey, that's mean Serana." Johnny Black, the shorter of the two mentioned whined.

"But she isn't entirely wrong either." XaXa admitted, chuckling as he patted the dagger on his waist. "Can't help that playing the bad guy is so much fun."

"Oh, is that the route we're going this game?" Nadar asked, looking down to Serana.

"Well duh, that's how we usually play our games. I mean, we've always played the criminal role when playing the Elder Scrolls?" The girl brought up.

"Fair enough." Nadar shrugged. "So what do we do? Head out into the field and level up?"

"I mean, it'd be best to at least get you all a little experience in game." Serana brought up. "I mean, I was the only one here who managed to play the beta. So it'll be helpful to all of us if you don't suck."

"Aren't you the only one in the raid groups that always died a few minutes into the boss fight?" Nadar asked, having to jump back to avoid getting punched by her. "Ouch, still sore over that, huh?"

"I told you that in confidence you'd keep quiet!" She shouted as the boy had to keep her back by arm's distance to avoid getting punch.

"And truly, you made a horrible mistake."

(Two hours later)

"I've made a horrible mistake." Nadar groaned as he clutched his stomach. In front of the group were three boars, with yellow health bars and the third with only one.

"Nadar, I told you to wait before striking." Serana said as she dodged away from on e of the boars, clutching her sword as she stopped. "You have to let your skill activate before using it. Otherwise you're doing a normal move."

"I wasn't… paying attention." Nadar responded, getting up slowly as the pain went down. The game was super advanced, enough to send small signals to the brain to actually simulate pain. It was toned down, but it still hurts to get hit.

"And whose fault is that?" PoH asked rhetorically as he prepared his next attack, waiting until his dagger glowed a bright green. In the next second, he lunged forward and landed several fast blows on one of the boars, draining its health close to 0.

"Ah who needs to think through like that!?" Johnny questioned as he was right in front of the damaged boar, slashing at it wildly with his dagger before his ability could activate. The slashes weren't at their strongest, but they were more than enough to kill the beast, causing it to explode into crystal fragments. "Yeah! That's how it's done!"

"Watch your back!" XaXa called out as he used a skill to stab the boar that was in the red, demolishing its health and destroying it.

"Okay Nadar, I want you to try your axe's skill again." Serana spoke, holding the boar back with her sword. "Just remember, go through the motions like you would any other attack. But pause a bit in the pose before striking out, that'll build up the attack and cause significant more damage."

"That seems a little flawed, pausing before attacking." Nadar muttered to himself, setting himself up into a simple one-handed swing. Seeing him ready, Serana pushed the boar away, getting it to agro onto him. As he waited it to approach, he could feel the power in his weapon begin to grow.

As the boar started to charge him, the axe's blade was surrounded by a red light, signaling the skill's activation. "Now! Hit it with your axe!" Serana shouted.

Nadar's eyes narrowed as he rushed forward, bringing the axe down in a diagonal swing as he cut into the boar. The weapon's attack gave significant damage, more than the rest of the group's skill attacks and cut through it like butter. The boar exploded like the others and as soon as it did, a small pop up appeared in front of each of them.

They weren't an official party, but each of them earned EXP and col for their parts in taking the mobs down.

"Whoa, that was more damage then I was expecting." Nadar commented as he sat down, taking a breather as his health was in the yellow.

"Yep, axe's have one of the highest ratings for damage in this game." Serana explained, sitting next to him with her health in the green. "But they require a lot more strength then swords and more dexterity than hammers. So not many people choose them because of how dedicated to those you have to be. You'll be limited to the amount of skills outside of combat you can preform."

"Outside of combat?" XaXa asked. "What other abilities are there?"

"Well there's cooking and smith skills for one. And it was only discovered as the beta ended, but some guys started preforming alchemy to create paralysis poisons."

"Sounds like a good trick to grief some lower level players." PoH responded, smiling a bit as he rubbed his chin. "Sounds like there's a good style we can go for."

"Well there are a near infinite number of skills and abilities out there." Serana added. "We have no idea what's out there. There might even be a skill that comes around that negates poison, and that could completely ruin that style. So I'd recommend at least putting effort into getting your weapon skills up."

"Fair enough."

"Hey, Nadar!" Johnny called out to the axe wielder, waving him over. "I want to talk for a second or two, okay?"

"Huh, sure thing?" Nadar said cautiously, getting up and walking over to the guy. What's up, something on your mind?"

"Sssshhhh! Quiet dude, this is secret." Johnny shushed him in return, draping an arm over his shoulder. "Hey man, this is your first time in an MMO with us, so me, XaXa and PoH all thought it'd be cool to get you to do the initiation."

"Initiation?"

"Yeah, you know, like a cool club activity to see if you can keep up with us." Johnny chuckled lightly, sure to keep quiet while the others talked about skills. "Ya see, every time we get a new member, we wait until the next game we get to start this little initiation. All ya got to do is kill one of us with a backstab, it'll be hilarious."

"Okay, but which one of them?" Nadar asked. "I can guess you aren't going to volunteer yourself, so how does this whole thing work?"

"Oh that's easy. It's already set that Serana will be your target."

"Serana? Dude, she'll be pissed at me for a month if I backstab her like that. She takes what I do a lot more seriously than all of you."

"Ah don't worry about it. She's the latest member after you so it was set back then. She got me when she joined and it was a blast! Trust me dude, she'll be laughing all year over how good it'll be."

"Well, I guess it can't hurt." Nadar said, looking over to the girl. It didn't feel right to single her out, mostly due to her bringing him into the group. And it was just a harmless joke, it'd might even make him fit in more with her friends. "But how do I do it?"

"That's up to you man." Johnny shrugged as he released Nadar. "Find a way to distract her, get her to turn her back on you and go in for the kill. Nothing too big there."

"Alright, I'll think of something." Nadar groaned as he turned back to the group. She's the experienced one here, so he had to do something underhanded. Like… using his lack of experience in MMOs!

"Hey, Serana?" He called out, walking over to the three while Johnny hid his chuckling face. "Can I ask you about something?"

"Hmm? What's on your mind Nadar?" The girl asked, the two other guys piecing together what was happening and smirking.

"Well, I was just wondering on any good ways of leveling in MMOs." He asked. "I mean, most have an infinite number of quests for everyone, but is that the same here?"

"That's actually a good question." Serana said, punching Nadar's shoulder lightly and grinning. "You've spent time playing RPGs and shooters, good to see you know how to ask the important questions."

"Alright, here's something important about SAO." Serana started, opening her menu and bringing up her map of the first floor. "You're right about the limiting of quests. In the beta we all shared certain quests, but all of the ones here in the Town of Beginnings, there's limited EXP to go around. So it would be smart for us to move on ahead and get some quests in the next village. There, we'll have better gains then the noobs here."

"Okay, but which town?" Nadar asked, opening his menu by copying the way she did. "There's three that are all pretty close, which one is the best one to start?"

"Oh, that's easy." She responded, turning west. As she faced away from him, she didn't notice Nadar exit his menu and unsheathe his axe. "Down that way. There'll be a few mobs that way, but nothing even level 1 players can't handle. Course with me it'll be no problem."

As Nadar readied himself, XaXa and PoH both had to hold a hand to their mouths to keep their chuckles from being heard. And by the time his skill activated, Johnny couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The laugh had almost warned her in time, but she was too late as Nadar's axe drove into her back. While she was in the green, the axe's massive damage added with the skill and backstab was enough to drain her health all the way to zero. When it did, her eyes widened in realization as XaXa and PoH started laughing with Johnny. "Well played."

She then exploded into the same crystals as the mobs, vanishing without a trace as Nadar stood there in mild disbelief. "Holy shit, I killed her in one hit."

"Man, she wasn't kidding about an axe's damage." XaXa chuckled as he calmed down. PoH was already done laughing, but Johnny was busy rolling around the grass, clutching his sides as he laughed.

"Oh my god! She went down like it was almost nothing! That is just too priceless! Hahahahahahahahaha!"

"Alright we had our fun." PoH interrupted. "Let's revive her and get back to leveling. We don't want to fall behind everyone else now do we?"

"Right." Nadar responded as he knelt down to where Serana disappeared, holding his hand out and expecting something to happen.

"Hey, what are you waiting for?" XaXa asked as a minute went by. "Why aren't you reviving her?"

"I-I don't know." Nadar responded, looking down to the area in confusion. "She said that holding your hand out to your fallen ally will start the revive process. But she didn't mention about when the body disappears. I thought it would be the same."

"Maybe she was sent back to town." PoH stated. "Perhaps we should wait for her to come back. If that's the case she'll be back in no time."

The four then waited long for the girl to return. Minutes flew by faster than they realized, and soon even a few hours had gone by. A feeling of confusion and regret began to swim through Nadar's head. Along with that, the green icon over his head had turned orange, likely signaling him killing her.

"Come on!" Johnny whined, clutching his feet. "I want to go out and kill some people! What's taking her so loooooooooong?"

"Did something come up for her?" XaXa asked, turning to Nadar as he did. "You know her in real life, right? Any idea what could've made her log off?"

"None." Nadar responded, looking down to his hands. "We had set things up with our parents to have the entire weekend to grind and get used to this game. And we even finished all our schoolwork ahead of time to make sure there was nothing to worry about. It's kind of… unsettling."

"She's a smart girl, I'm sure everything's fine." PoH said, taking the situation as if nothing's wrong.

"Maybe she just forgot to do her chores or something and her parents unplugged her." Johnny commented, picking his ear with his pinkie finger.

"Yeah, that must be it." Nadar sighed, standing up as he opened his menu. "I'll log out and call her. See if she'll be on for the rest of the day or not. Just wait here for me okay?"

"Not like we're doing anything else." Johnny groaned as he laid down, letting out a dramatic sigh.

Nadar rolled his eyes at the childish response and navigated through his menu to the profile settings. Once he entered, he saw three pages he could go to. Help, Options, and… blank?

"Hey guys? This'll sound like a complete noob question, but isn't the log out in profile setting?"

"Of course it is, where else would it be?" XaXa asked back.

"Well it isn't. Or it is and… some glitch is going on." Nadar responded, clicking onto the GM chat to contact the Game Master. "Check your guys' menus and try to find it. I'm contacting the GM to sort this out."

"You're probably just getting a bug. It's right… here?" PoH started, confusion hitting him as he saw his log out button blank. "What the hell? This is where Serana said it would be."

"Mine's missing too." XaXa added.

"Oh sh*t son, things just got creepy." Johnny finished, tapping lazily at his blank button. "Wait, what the f**k? They have a filter on our spoken chat? Broken log out and censoring just out of beta?"

"I mean, little kids are probably going to be playing this game too." Nadar brought up, tapping his foot as he watched the GM request constantly load. "Man, there must be a long waiting list or something. I wonder if more people are having this problem now."

"Makes sense, it's past five so probably a lot of people are trying to log off for dinner." PoH sighed, rubbing the top of his head. "I was supposed to get off and order some takoyaki in an hour."

"Well, you might have to wait a bit before we can get off." Nadar shrugged, scratching his left cheek as he waited. "Although I don't know how much the GM cares right now or not."

"What?"

"If this is happening to everyone, why not just shut the servers down?" Nadar asked to the group, getting their complete attention. "Shutting down the servers would instantly log everyone out, and that way they'd be able to fix the problem without us being trapped."

"It just doesn't make…" Nadar started to continue before the four were all suddenly teleported back into the main courtyard of the Town of Beginnings. "…sense?" Almost as instantly as they appeared standing, every single player in the game was either there or being teleported in as well.

"What the hell is going on?" Johnny asked, appearing actually surprised over suddenly standing and appearing in town.

"I'm not sure, maybe we should call the GM."

"Shut up Nadar."

"Hold up." PoH interrupted, motioning up to the sky.

When they all looked up, there was a single red hexagon in the sky blinking with **WARNING** across it.

"What's that?"

"Well XaXa, I can't be certain but I'm sure it's some type of warning."

"Nadar. F**k. Off."

"You're a lot more vocal now, huh?" PoH interjected.

"I've been stuck waiting for my one friend in real life to show up with three randoms who thought pranking her was a fun gag." Nadar responded, crossing his arms as he narrowed his eyes. "I'm reasonably annoyed and am starting to lose my patience with… this."

Before Nadar could finish his rant, the hexagon quickly multiplied until it completely covered the sky in red. Between the shapes, a thick blood like liquid began to seep through and take shape. Sparks danced across the shape before it became detailed, revealing a massive figure in a red cloak. His face was completely hidden, making it impossible to see who it was.

"That… turned into someone?" XaXa questioned, rubbing his eyes to test if he was just seeing things.

The figure then spread his arms to his sides, extending himself in presentation to the crowd of thousands. "Ladies and gentlemen. I am Akihiko Kayaba, head programmer. Welcome to the unparalleled experience that is… Sword Art Onlin-!" Before he could finish speaking, the crowd started to get loud, all asking different questions as they tried to figure things out.

"Uh, Hello, hel-hello."

"He seriously thinks he can get a bunch of gamers to stay quiet when they're confused?" Nadar said to himself, sighing as he looked down in shame. "Us gamers as a community suck dick. I can't believe he was expecting us to stay quiet while he spoke."

"Um, hello! People! Kinda talking here. Focus." After a minute of their constant chatter, he moved his hand forward and opened a menu to pull up voice chat. "Kay, I'm just gonna go ahead and disable general chat her-" His voice suddenly caught off, causing the four boys to all look up in confusion.

"Did the creator of this game just mute himself?" PoH asked, surprised himself at the noob mistake.

"Probably under a lot of pressure." Nadar considered. "Probably has terabits of chat requests appearing out of nowhere and had to rush this. He's likely not supposed to actually be in game like this."

"Alright, I just realized what happened." Kayaba spoke up again, unmuting himself. "It's very funny, but right now, serious time."

"How many of you have seen Tron?"

.

.

.

"Eh? Eh?" Silence entered the world, seeming to catch the programmer off guard. "W-What, seriously? None of you have seen Tron? Sh*t, I was really banking on that. Okay, okay, no problem. I can wing this."

The programmer then cleared his throat, preparing his explanation. "Much like the World of Warcraft, none of you are here by choice anymore. Unlike WoW however, you are being held here by me, not by your need to escape your empty f**cking lives." He then went down to where his log out button was on his menu, showing that his too was gone.

"There is no longer any way for you to log out of Sword Art Online, something that I was fully intended on doing upon the release. And if someone on the outside attempts to log you out by removing your NerveGear… well… has anyone seen Scanners?"

' _Oh shit.'_ Nadar thought, one thing coming to mind with the mention of a movie. Likely with one scene in mind.

"Uh, Scanners." Kayaba asked again, surprised at the silence once more. "It's-It's a movie that-seriously!?" He then sighed as he pulled up several computer screens around him, with most having news reports of NerveGear accidents. "Okay, give me a sec. Let me just… Alright, here we, here we go. Watch this: /pjnZO5ZgWE8"

The scene then played out, getting everyone's attention at the gory scene. "Okay, that was from Scanners… and basically that." A collective of gasps was then heard, showing that the gamers were slowly starting to put it together. "Okay, finally! Seeing some gears turning. We're making progress."

"So as I was saying, the only way to keep the NerveGear from going all Galaga on your grey matter is to make your way through Castle Aincrad and beat Sword Art Online." Nadar then raised his hand in the air, getting Kayaba's attention. "Yes?"

"So let me get this straight; you want a generation of idiots who let EA sell half-baked games, complain about it while simultaneously buying the game and DLC anyways, to beat an MMO?" Nadar asked.

"Essentially."

"F**k you man! This is probably most of our first MMO!"

"Whoa, whoa! I'm sensing an unnatural amount of hostility here. Not gonna lie, I don't appreciate it."

"Well be real here, how many people do you know that complete MMOs?"

"How many people do you know that PLAY MMOs?"

.

.

.

"Touché."

"Anywho." Kayaba picked up, seeing Nadar seemingly unable to counter further. "For all you guys who wanted to play as girls, and you know who you are." He brought up, looking specifically at the large group of girls closer to the center of the crowd. "Well… I've got a surprise for you."

An item then suddenly appeared in Nadar's inventory, leading him to find it and have it appear in his hands. "A… mirror?" As he saw his avatar's reflection, blue light began to instantly go off around him, everyone and himself seeming to be caught in it for a few seconds.

When it wore off, Nadar stared in shock as he saw the reflection of his actual appearance. His short, dark red hair, brown eyes, slightly tan skin, young appearance, 5'6 stature and most importantly his clearly frail and weak body.

"Nadar?" PoH questioned, getting the boy to turn to him. It was obvious he was an adult, his voice was more than enough. But he was clearly past what most would assume, even with greasy hair he was attractive by most standards.

"Holy sh*t." Johnny said. "Are you in a hospital or something dude? You look like the wind would break your bones and blow you away like dust."

"And you look just as crazy as I expected Black." Nadar said back.

"It's Johnny Black."

"Hehe, you're not getting that from me."

"As you can see, I have peeled away at your petty facades and revealed you for what you truly are…" Kayaba started to speak again, looking among the crowd to take in everyone's appearances. "Fairly attractive twenty-something… apparently…Good for you. Kind of undermines the whole "Cold light of day" thing I had planned. But still. Way to break down stereotypes."

"Except you, Fatty." He pointed out, looking at the overweight player at the edge of the crowd. "Way to bring down the curve."

"Oh, oh, oh, wait! One more thing." Kayaba chuckled, finding humor in his next news. "I should probably mention that if your health points reach zero, your real bodies perish as well."

That news suddenly hit Nadar like a train. If a player's HP goes away, they die. And if he was telling them now, that had to have been the rule before hand. Which means that he…

"Guys…" Nadar started to say, tears flowing freely from his eyes as the system prevented him from hiding them. "I think… I think Serana's dead."

As people seemed confused and unable to understand, PoH looked down to Nadar and put his hands on his shoulders, seemingly trying to comfort him. "Now Nadar, we don't know that. There's no way that people can die in this game. Don't let this crazy sh*t get to you, okay?"

"But it's completely possible." Nadar responded, looking down as his eyes were wide in horror. "The NerveGear has microwave emitters to power it, that safety feature could easily be shut off. All it takes is one good power burst to completely fry someone's brain. There's no other reason why she wouldn't be here right now. She wouldn't miss this game unless… unless…"

The sound of the Scanners clip going off again was then heard, and suddenly it seemed to click for most of the players. "Oh my God! If we die in the game, we die for real!"

"Yeah I'm just going to keep that tabbed…" Kayaba stated, sending his menu away as his visage started to fade. "And with that, I bid you all adieu. Oh, last thing, I swear. I disabled the profanity filter. Have fun with that." The red sky and visage all disappeared in the next instant, leaving everyone to take in the information in their own way.

"We're fucked!"

Which resulted in chaos.

Players were all scrambling, all terrified at the prospect of being thrown into a death game like this. It was terrifying, and both adults and kids alike were panicking.

"PoH!" XaXa shouted. "We need to get out of here! We'll get trampled at this rate!"

"Come on Nadar, we have to move! Now!" PoH shouted to the boy, trying to pull him with him. But before he could, the axe wielder ripped his arm from his grasp, confusing him. "Nadar? What are you doing?"

"Get away from me."

"Huh?"

"I said get away from me you fucks!" Nadar shouted as he stared in utter rage, tears still going down his face.

"Nadar, what's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me is that I just killed my best friend because of your stupid initiation!" The boy screamed, pointing to the three. "The one person I was able to talk to, the one that honestly saw me as a person! And you made me kill her!"

"Dude, calm down." Johnny tried to reason. "There's no way she's actually dead. This is just some sick joke."

"We can argue over this later." PoH added, reaching for Nadar again. "Right now we have to get you out of here before-"

"Fuck off!" Nadar shouted, swiping his hand away. "I'm not accepting your help! I don't need people like you to pretend to care and protect me! So with all due respect: Fucking. Get out of my sight you damn murders!"

"We don't have time for this." XaXa shouted. "PoH, leave the fucker. If he doesn't come with us, then that's his problem. We have to go and start leveling up now. Or at least avoid getting ran down by the panicking idiots."

PoH seemed to be weighing the options, almost ready to grab Nadar and drag him even if he didn't want to come. But seeing the unbridled rage on the kid's face, he knew that the moment they left the town, there was no telling what reckless thing he'd do. So he and the others left, leaving him without looking back.

As he saw them run, Nadar couldn't help but look down, Serana's fate and his involvement feeling unbearably heavy. He just wanted to fit in, to become friends with his friend's online pals. He never meant for this to happen. He'd never do it if he knew that was going to happen.

' _Sarah… I'm so, so sorry.'_

As the rampaging streets were nearly cleared, Nadar could hear distinct crying. When he looked at the source, he saw a little girl on her knees. She couldn't be any older than 12, even younger than him. She was scared and unable to take it, breaking down without any end in sight.

" _You remember why you play games right?"_ Sarah's words started going through Nadar's head, recalling how she convinced him to accept the offer of getting SAO. _"To become the person you wanted to be. SAO will be perfect for you, as a VRMMORPG, you'll have no limits!"_

Wiping the tears away, the boy tightened his fists in determination. And without a second thought, he approached the girl. "Why are you crying?"

The girl's crying lightened slightly, her attention turning up to him. "W-What?"

"Why, are you, crying?"

"Because I'm… I'm going to die!" She cried into her hands, terror filling her. "This is my first MMO, and I'm stuck in a game of death! I didn't want this, I won't be able to survive for a week!"

"You, maybe." Nadar said. "But you're not you, not here." His words confused the girl, causing her to look up to him again. "We're not in the real world right now, so you aren't whoever you are there. In here, in SAO, we have to make a hard choice now. To be stronger than ourselves, to be weaker, or to be the same."

He then looked to his hands, blood seen on his hands for a split second before vanishing. "And I don't know about you, but I plan to be stronger than ever before. I won't let this game kill me, but if it does I'm going to make it the most difficult thing in its life."

He then turned back to the girl, seeing her crying stop as she looked at him with teary eyes. "I won't be able to watch over you, but I seriously recommend getting stronger. You have family waiting for you, stay alive for them. Get stronger for them. Grow for them."

"And while you do." Nadar said as he turned away, facing the west exit of town. "I'll get stronger and grow for who brought me here. Whether you do or not is your own choice." He then pulled his axe out, holding it with his right hand as his eyes glowed red. "But I'm going to become who I was always meant to be, and I'd recommend you do the same."

Then without turning back, Nadar sprinted out of the Town of Beginnings. From this point on, he was going down a path he refused to retreat from. He would turn this game of death into his own world.

"I won't let it be for nothing." Nadar said as he ran on a dirt path, seeing a grey wolf form ahead of him. "You told me where to go, and I'll follow."

The wolf then ran towards him, to which he held his axe to his side and charged a skill. "I'll defeat this whole damn world because you taught me what I'll need to survive!" Without even stopping, he cut the wolf in half and destroyed it.

"SARAH!"

He was going to burn this game to the ground. And once he did, Kayaba's head would be on a pike.


	2. Be Bad to be Good

One month has passed since Sword Art Online had started, and in doing so trapped almost 10,000 players to fight for their lives. And since it had started, around 2,000 of the players had already died. And to make matters worse, they hadn't even gotten past the first floor.

The situation was looking grim for the remaining players, a large chunk of which has remained in the Town of Beginnings. They were too afraid to level up, the fear of death keeping most from leveling up too high.

But there was a select group of those who've been roaming the floor, grinding and boosting themselves in an attempt to push further in the game. Few of them were entire groups, but some have encountered one another through their hunts. And through the links, a message was sent to those that were all over the LV. 10 to meet at the town Tolbana.

Nadar was among the group of players who received the message, now having a shirt with his right sleeve missing and an axe with an opening at the bottom of the blade. His leather chest guard was now gone, replaced by a single metal shoulder pad on his left shoulder.

He was currently looking at his menu, checking the time to make sure that he was getting close to arriving on time. Seeing he was early, he went to his message box and tapped on Diavel, revealing the player as the one who sent the group message. However, there were prior messages hidden by a reload.

" _I'm in town now. Do I wait for you at the courtyard or somewhere else?" ~Nadar_

…

" _The meeting will be in the ruins near the edge of town. If you want to wait, I'd say that will be best." ~Diavel._

"He's getting in over his head." Nadar said to himself as he closed his menu, heading towards the ruins. "These guys might be the ones who have bothered to level up, but my money's on them being a bunch of rejects and idiots."

When he got to the meeting sight, he headed over to the far right of the rows of rock, sitting as far from where anyone would likely sit. Over the course of the month, Nadar had hardly seen any other players, only encountering three during the hunts he had been on.

Although, from his experience with two of those three he learned that staying away from others was probably for the best. When the pair was in a bit of a pinch and he arrived to help, it seemed almost normal until after they saw his cursor. It was there that he learned that his orange cursor indeed stood for committing crimes against other players, so far only player killers have been seen with them.

As a result, he was instantly seen as a threat and they were just about ready to attack. But when he had just left they seemed too confused to actually make a move on him.

His cursor had turned back to green after a few days, but the damage had already been done. Aside from someone else, Nadar was the only known player currently leveling up that wielded an axe. Any chance of trying to form a party was likely to be ruined for him.

As players started to slowly make their way to the ruin, Nadar was sure to keep a close eye on them. They were in a Safe Zone, but he knew better than to just let others eye him out. He'd check each measuring gaze that was sent to him, or the completely oblivious ones that had no idea who he was.

Out of all of them, he noted that several sword users and a few spearmen had wandered their eyes onto him. Out of all of them, he could tell that they had good loot for the first floor. Which meant they could be a risk to him. He knows they wouldn't try to kill him, but most likely they won't try to help him if he's caught in a bad situation.

Out of all of them, Nadar saw that one of the spearmen was keeping a close eye on him as well. He was short, around 5'5 yet looked older than Nadar himself. He had black hair and brown eyes, clearly with Asian heritage. His equipment consisted of a green shirt, brown pants, a metal chest guard and gauntlet on his right arm. His spear wasn't too special, but on his belt were several knives.

' _Distance fighter, eh?'_ Nadar thought, smirking as he saw the narrowed glare being sent at him from the boy. To see if he could push any buttons, he gave a two-finger salute to him. He noted a twitch from his right eye, but otherwise didn't give him much satisfaction before looking away.

An hour went by before everyone finally showed up, about 50 players in total on the stone slabs. And once they were seated, Diavel was ready to start. "Alright everyone, thank you for showing up." The blue haired player said as he walked onto the stage at the bottom of the stairs. "Now, I know we're in a bit of a tight situation so far, with how 2,000 players have died since the start."

"What!?"

"2,000 people are dead!?"

Nadar sighed as Diavel tried to ignore the outbursts, continuing on with his speech. "And it may seem even worse with us not even clearing the first floor."

"We haven't!?"

"I thought we were-"

"Shut up!" Nadar shouted, slamming his fist on the stone, spooking the idiots into shutting up. "Just let the guy finish alright? Then you can go and storm trooper your way into the realm of forgotten background characters."

"Thank you, Nadar." Diavel said up to said player, relief clearly on his face. "The point I was trying to get across was that we've finally found the boss room." That had gotten everyone's attention, giving him the clearing to explain. "I'm aware we have a varying belief on how to do this, but we have a responsibility as the highest level players in this game. When we beat this boss, we can tell everyone back at the Town of Beginnings that this game is beatable!"

This served as actual encouragement to the players watching, most clapping in applause at the idea. "Alright, now we have to set up on how we're going to beat this boss. To start up, we'll need to party into teams of six."

' _Oh shit.'_ Nadar thought, knowing it was coming but still nervous over it.

"A normal party doesn't stand a chance again a floor boss, so we need a raid group made up of multiple parties." Before long, it seemed a large amount of the players had all grouped together. It was clear they had experience with each other, so forming parties wasn't going to be difficult for them.

It seemed that just about every single party had the maximum six members to Nadar's observation, all except for the one across the seats from him. A party of three, the spearman who was glaring at him, a kid with a long sword, and what appeared to be a girl with a cloak over her.

"So, we're the odd ones out, huh?" The spearman asked as he sat down next to the two. "I'm Hachiman. I guess we'll have to form a party together?"

"It is the best option." The other boy said as he opened his menu, sending a party invite to Hachiman. "I'm Kirito, and this is Asuna."

"Nice to meet you two." The spearman responded, shaking the swordsman's hand. "Three's a rather small number for a raid party, but I suppose it's better than nothing."

"What about him?" Asuna asked, pointing over to Nadar at the other side.

"I don't think that'd be a good idea." Hachiman responded, narrowing his eyes as Nadar sighed.

"You don't know who he is, do you?" Kirito asked, looking over to Asuna. The girl shook her head in response, staying quiet as she has been.

"That guy had an orange cursor near the start of this game." Hachiman explained, turning to the girl. "You can tell how we all have green cursors over our heads', right?"

"Uhhm." She nodded.

"Orange means you committed a crime against another player. And after some people did a little digging, we know that he killed a player." The distaste in Hachiman's voice was clear for the two to hear. "And I doubt it was for self-defense either, considering his cursor wouldn't have changed color if that were the case."

"You know, it's rude to talk about others behind their back." The three all jumped as Nadar was suddenly sitting behind them, holding a drink in his right hand.

"What are you doing here?" Hachiman questioned, his eyes focused on the potential threat in front of him.

"Well, I was hoping to join your party in order to increase my chances of survival." Nadar answered, taking a sip of his drink. "And seeing as how you're the only party without six people, I thought it would at least be worth a shot."

"No way, we're not dealing with a criminal like you."

"Oh ho k Batman, turn it down a notch." Nadar chuckled, holding his free hand out in mock surrender. "I'm not here to cause trouble, honest. I seriously am here to join the party, nothing nefarious or dastardly planned. Well, other than how to set up Kayaba up to meet the business end of my axe anyways."

"Do you really think we'd trust you?" Kirito asked, his own glare set on the player.

"You don't have to. I'll take the front." Nadar countered. "I'm setting myself up to be a little tankish, so you won't have to have your backs to me. In fact, I'd have to show more trust that you three won't kill me."

"Do you seriously think that will be enough?" Hachiman questioned.

"Okay, look at it like this." Nadar relented, leaning forward and looking directly at the three. "If I wanted to, oh I don't know, why would I come to a meeting on forming a raid party? And if I'm as bad as you all think, why would Diavel send me an invite to this show?"

"He's… he's got a point." Kirito sighed, looking down as he did.

"That won't be enough for me to trust you." Hachiman responded.

Nadar smiled in response, pointing over to Hachiman. "You're smart then. I like that. I'm not asking any of you to trust me as a person, but trust my anger as someone trapped in this death game with you. And I can give you my word that I won't attack any of you during this raid. "I don't want to make Diavel look bad in front of everyone by betraying his trust."

Kirito looked over to his two party members, sending a silent question on whether to invite him or not. Asuna gave a silent nod for her answer, while Hachiman audibly groaned and turned back to face Diavel. "Alright, just don't make any funny moves, got it?"

Nadar smirked as he received an invite from Kirito, accepting it and seeing the three new bars below his. "Well, nobody's perfect. So I'll try to behave myself."

"Alright, it looks like we're all grouped up." Diavel spoke up again. "Now let's go over-"

"Wait!" A shout came from the top of the ruin's steps. At the top was a guy with orange hair and iron fastened chest plate. He jumped down the stairs several at a time before landing at the center near Diavel. "My name's Kibaou. And there's something I have to say before we go against the boss."

Kibaou then turned to the crowd, glaring as he did. "Some of you here need to apologize to the 2,000 who have died so far!"

"Kibaou, you're referring to the beta testers, aren't you?" Diavel asked.

"Of course I am!" Kibaou shouted back. "On the day this stupid game started they ditched all of us beginners. They took all the good hunting spots and easy quests for themselves, so they were the only ones getting stronger. And since then they've been practically ignoring us like we're a disease."

"I know I would." Nadar muttered to himself.

"And I bet some of them are here right now! They should apologize for everyone who has died so far, and give up all the look and col they've hoarded up until this point." Kibaou continued, his anger clear as day to everyone listening. "They can't expect us to trust them when they don't even trust us." Kibaou then jumped as a glass broke next to him, dissipating after it broke. "Who the hell threw that!?"

"I did." Nadar spoke up, standing up as he did. "It was the only way to shut you up." He then walked down towards the center, standing across from the player while giving an indifferent glare. "To be honest, people like you piss me off almost as much as all of the idiots and fuck ups that are among us here. Blaming others for events that were beyond their control like they're sinners. It makes me sick."

"What, are you a beta tester or something?" Kibaou asked, his glare intensifying.

"Nope, just speaking for them since they won't." Nadar responded, crossing his arms and standing his ground. "I'll keep it simple, since you clearly seem to have the brain capacity of an art's student. The beta testers have been going around and helping players all over. In fact, at least a hundred of the deaths in the past month have been those beta testers you've been talking shit about."

A round of gasps was heard from the information dropping. "Yeah that's right, a tenth of the players who played this game before all of us are already dead. But each one did something to help everyone else before they did. Take me for example. I'm LV. 15 right now, because a beta tester told me a good method of leveling up before they died."

"So what? One or two actually did something helpful?" Kibaou responded. "Come on man, you have to admit that most of them have been selfish and looking out for only themselves. How could 2,000 people die if the experts weren't trying to-gah!"

Before Kibaou could finish, Nadar grabbed him by his armor's collar and stared in directly in the eyes. "Listen buddy, most of the people in this game make Weyland-Yutani seem like the most responsible and intelligent crew there are. I can guarantee that at least one of those idiots got themselves killed screaming "LEEROY JENKINS!" just for the LOLs."

Nadar then shoved Kibaou back, the corner of his iris' glowing red. "You want to talk shit about the beta testers, do it when you've proven they've done nothing to help others. Otherwise, just shut up and listen." After a brief stare down, Kibaou relented and sat down at the base of the stairs while Nadar went back up to his seat, his eyes returning to normal as he slacked down a bit.

The rest of the meeting flew by rather well, with the boss' weapons and minions being listed. Illfang was a rather basic opponent, with a buckler and axe. His minions were likely the same level as the highest ranking mobs as was noted, and several teams would be set to stall them while the rest take on the boss.

Even how item and rewards will be distributed was announced, getting the potential problem out of the way quickly. And once they were done, everyone seemed to go off and do their own thing. While everyone went out, Nadar stayed behind to talk to Diavel, the two at the edge of town from the hunting grounds.

"You're taking a big risk here, leading this bunch into a boss battle." Nadar said, looking out into the fields.

"Yeah, well someone had to try and band us together." Diavel responded, rubbing the back of his head. "Admittedly, some are rather… slower than the rest. But I think we can make some real progress if I can get them to work together."

"Diavel, none of these guys are pros, they're going to buckle under the stress instantly."

"Man, you got to put more faith into people." Diavel sighed, shaking his head. "It seems difficult, but there are times when you have to rely on others in order to make it further."

"I didn't get as far as I have trusting everyone." Nadar countered. "In fact, you're the second person I've trusted in here. So I'd rather not go through the bs of you getting yourself killed for a bunch of noobs."

"We'll do fine. Besides, that party you've met up with seems plenty good as it is. Maybe they'll be the example you need to open up."

"I doubt it. Can't open up when they don't even trust me."

"Give it time." Diavel reassured, putting a hand on Nadar's shoulder. You just have to prove you aren't the player killer everyone makes you out to be."

"We'll see." Nadar said, pushing Diavel's hand off and walking towards the fields. "I'm going to go do my usual leveling. I'll be back in time for the raid."

"Be careful out there. Don't take a risk not worth taking."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Nadar spent the rest of the night hunting, boosting himself the best he can and getting enough col to buy a few extra health potions. By the time he was done, he had only a few hours before they'd start heading off. But even then, he spent the time sitting in the town's bar, going over potential situations and reading the guidebook.

His party would deal with the Sentinels, which meant they were covering most of the raid group. It didn't seem like they were anything special, just some poleaxes and decent speed. So he was at least certain he could handle them well enough.

Before he knew it, everyone who was sleeping was already awake and heading out, signaling him to get moving as well. When he got to the center of town, he couldn't help but grin as he saw his party waiting. "Hey there buddies, ready to go kill us a boss. Maybe find a good sight or two before then?"

"Don't act like we're friends." Hachiman responded.

"Don't worry Dinklage, I won't go stepping on your feet over it." Nadar said, walking past the group. "Best we keep up with everyone on the walk. Can't risk falling behind and letting the rejects do the work."

"What did he call me?" Hachiman questioned, raising an eyebrow as he and the others started to follow.

Before they would reach the boss room, they had to make their way through the dungeon. Thanks to the number of players, getting through wasn't too difficult. While they were, Kirito noted that Nadar kept true to his word and was always at the front of the group. Whenever he or any of the others were moving forward, he was already past them attacking further into the mobs.

' _Looks like he doesn't lie at least.'_ Kirito thought as he walked next to Asuna and Hachiman, the latter keeping his eyes on the red head.

"You know, burning a hole into the back of my head isn't a good start to team building." Nadar spoke up, looking back to the spearman as he walked. When Hachiman wouldn't speak back, he simple shrugged his shoulders and looked ahead. "Okay then, don't talk to me. It won't cause too many problems since we're just taking care of the minions."

"Hey man, maybe you should relax a bit." Kirito said, tapping on Hachiman's shoulder. "Whether or not he pked, we need to work with him if we're going to get through this fight."

"I'm not glaring at him in distrust." Hachiman responded, confusing Kirito. "Something's bugging me and I'm trying to figure it out."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Why did he defend the beta testers like that?" Hachiman echoed his thoughts, looking over to Kirito. "The guy clearly isn't one himself, someone experienced in this game wouldn't choose to have such low grade armor when using an axe. So why go through the trouble of painting an even bigger target on himself?"

"I don't know." Kirito responded. "People often change when they go online in gaming. Perhaps he wants to just be that guy that causes and stops trouble when he wants to. Sometimes others just don't care whose side they take either."

"Maybe, but it seems like he took it rather personal, didn't he?" Hachiman then sighed, shaking his head a she let the thought go. "I'm probably just over thinking things. He did say he owed them, so maybe that's it. Returning the favor."

"No time to think about it anyways." Asuna brought up, bringing the two back up to reality. The two were surprised as they realized that they were just reaching the top of the dungeon. In fact, several of the leading players were waiting outside the massive door for it.

Nadar was one of the few waiting, and when he saw the three catch up he walked over to them. "Well then, I guess we're gonna have our hands full ahead of us." He then looked over to Kirito and Hachiman specifically. "Do you two have any good advice other than "Hit it until it dies"?"

"I mean, we're not dealing with the boss so we won't have to worry too much on a strategy to fighting Illfang." Kirito responded. "At worst, we might have to split up in order to cover all the Sentinels that might swarm the other teams."

"I wouldn't recommend that." Hachiman countered. "We're all decent level, so we can clear things up well. But I'd recommend that you and Nadar be the ones stunning the Sentinels while Asuna and I take them out quickly. She and I have the higher speed stats, so our switch speed should be quick enough."

"Oh, that actually brings up a good point." Kirito realized, looking over to Nadar. "What did you put most of your stats in to?"

"Well, I wasn't sure on what a good setup for the build I started with so I went with what I was told." Nadar answered. "I'm used to being a more assassin build, a knife or a sword would've been more comfortable of a start. But I really wanted to try out something new. And I was told that using an axe required a lot of strength and a decent amount of dexterity. So I put about a fourth of my points into dexterity, another into strength and the rest into my vitality."

The three all stared at Nadar in mild shock, the spearman speaking up what they were all thinking. "You put… all of your points into those three things? What about stuff like agility or focus? You sound like you were going for a tank build but even tanks know better to only put stats into three sets."

"Well, I thought it was a lot like other fantasy games I played." Nadar admitted. "BS like putting points into agility or even accuracy ratings weren't very often. Usually those went up along as you level up."

"That explains why you have such light equipment." Kirito sighed as he put a hand to his head. "You have to compensate for your lack of speed by lowering the weight on you. There's no way you'd be fast enough to keep up any other way."

"I mean, I use light equipment all the time. Why is this different?"

"Do you even understand the importance of balance in a MMO!?"

"All right everyone." Diavel spoke up, interrupting the group as he impaled his sword into the ground. "I only have one thing to say to all of you. Let's win!"

"Alright, so me and Kirito get the front, right?" Nadar double-checked as Diavel opened the door, looking over to the swordsman as he did.

"Yeah. We'll use a skill to off balance them, and then Hachiman and Asuna will back us up and take them down." Kirito explained, everyone entering the room and readying their weapons as the dark corridor suddenly brightened.

At the end of the corridor, Illfang sat upon a throne, his red eyes glowing bright in contrast to the multi-color roof. And when they finally entered, he picked up his axe and buckler before jumping halfway down the way, roaring as his four health bars appeared. Soon after, the Kobold Sentinels spawned in, each with a single health bar and an axe like weapon.

"All right men, group up and-"

"Attack!" One of the random players shouted out, causing a partial chaos to ensue as two of the teams rushed out on their own.

"No, damn it!" Diavel shouted out. "Team C and D, move in for the flank! A and B, you have to switch in for the attacks!" He tried to regain some control, but the sudden rush in had caused the situation to worsen in a matter of seconds. "E and F, get those minions off of the others!"

"We got this!" Hachiman shouted as Kirito and Nadar both rushed towards the Sentinels. As two approached them, they activated their skills and struck at their weapons, stunning them long enough for Asuna and Hachiman both to switch in with a flurry of attacks and destroy them.

"Kirito, watch your left!" Nadar shouted as he lunged forward and blocked an attack from a Sentinel, his health taking a small amount of damage from the block. As he held it at bay, the swordsman cut it across its back in order to destroy it, relieving him of the damage. "Thanks."

"No problem." Kirito responded, moving into action as the four all started to continue with their role. Between the four of them, Nadar was roughly taking the most damage. His low agility made dodging rare and difficult to preform, leaving him to take several hits directly. But even then, the three noticed that his health was still just in the green, meaning he wasn't kidding about putting half of his points into vitality.

' _He probably would have been better helping in fighting Illfang directly.'_ Hachiman thought as he stabbed his spear through a Sentinel, finishing it off before following Nadar. _'His health is ridiculous to make it this far with the attacks he's received and stay there. But he better not push his luck if things get dicey during Illfang's second phase.'_

The battle only got harder as they progressed forward, but after ten minutes of constant fighting and chaos Illfang's health had finally dropped into the red. This caused the boss to throw his weapon and shield aside, his second phase activating.

"It looks like they're doing well enough." Nadar grinned, managing to take out a Sentinel on his own before he noticed the boss' health. "We just need to keep hitting him like this and soon we'll-"

"Stand back!" Diavel's voice shouted over the others, the raid leader rushing to the front of the group with a sword skill ready. "I got this!"

' _Wait, that isn't the plan.'_ Kirito thought, looking over to Diavel. _'We're supposed to surround it and finish off its health.'_ His eyes then widened in shock as he saw Illfang unsheathe his sword, revealing it to be a nodachi and not the planned talwar. _'What the!? This isn't like the beta at all!'_

"Diavel, stop!" Kirito shouted, trying to get the player's attention.

"It isn't fighting like in the beta!" Hachiman added, but their warning came too late as Illfang sped up to Diavel and cut across his chest.

The action caught Nadar's attention as he was blocking attacks from a Sentinel. He stared in horror as the boss then swiped horizontally and sent Diavel flying across the corridor. "Diavel!" With the use of a charged skill Nadar cut away the Sentinel and ran for Diavel as he landed in a heap. As another was lunging over to attack him, it was instantly stopped as a throwing knife stabbed into its chest.

"Get him, we got this!" Hachiman shouted, throwing a second knife into the Sentinel before piercing through it with his spear.

Nadar only nodded in response before he reached Diavel. "What the hell were you thinking?" Nadar vented as he reached for his belt, pulling out one of the three health potions he had equipped. Diavel's health was dropping rapidly, already almost completely gone as he went to give him the potion.

But as he was about to start administering it, Diavel reached out and pushed it away, surprising Nadar as he looked up to him in exhaustion. "You remember what I told you right? When you asked me about the boss two weeks ago?"

"You… you went for the last-attack bonus?" Nadar asked, staring at Diavel in disbelief. "But… why would you do something so risky for a rare item? You know better than to risk yourself like that. You're a leader damn it!"

Diavel only smiled in response, his avatar glowing brighter the closer his health approached 0. "Why do you insist on saying that only I can lead? Is it because of me being a beta tester?" Nadar paused as he looked down to him, wanting to just give Diavel the potion but couldn't bring himself to push against him. "Anyone can lead if they have the heart to, just like you."

"No… I can't."

"You have to." Diavel argued. "You have to win this, for everyone who can't." With the last bit of health gone, Diavel died and shattered into fragments, leaving Nadar to watch in horror as another player disappeared right in front of him.

And it wasn't just him. The entire raid party all saw their leader turn into fragments, his death completely stopping anyone from making a move to attack Illfang. It was like the entire fighting force had lost the will to stand against the boss, which would result in all of them getting completely wiped.

"No…" Nadar muttered, dropping his health potion and staring where Diavel once was as it shattered as well. "No… not again."

' _I failed again.'_

 **ROAR!**

Nadar's eyes snapped wide in anger as he heard Illfang roar at the other players. And almost instantly he rose up and grabbed his axe, turning as he was ready to rip the boss to utter pieces.

As he did, Hachiman, Kirito and Asuna all stepped beside him, all with somber looks as they did. "We'll be right with you." Asuna said, readying her rapier as she did.

"Fine." Nadar responded, taking the lead and running towards Illfang as he slashed a player away from him.

"We'll hit him just like the minions." Kirito ordered, getting nods from everyone.

"I'll start!" Nadar shouted, preparing a sword skill and striking Illfang's sword away. As that opened him up for an attack, Asuna and Hachiman both readied their weapons to attack before Illfang instantly recovered, sending a heavy slash at them. The two's high speed allowed them to dodge, and with their attacks ready they instantly knocked the boss back with their combined strikes.

Kirito was next to rush head first against Illfang, blocking one of his attacks to give Asuna and Hachiman time to prepare their attacks. But upon the moment he blocked, Illfang activated his own skill and sent another slash diagonally up. The attack caught Kirito off guard and knocked him back into both Asuna and Hachiman, sending the three of them all to the floor as he approached them.

"Shit!" Hachiman swore under his breath as he tried to get up, seeing that the attack was coming in too quickly. As he held his spear out with both hands to block the attack, he saw Nadar run between them and the boss without hesitation.

Illfang's attack landed on Nadar as he took the full force of it, his left arm being cut off as the sword burrowed through his abdomen. Hachiman and Kirito both expected to see Nadar's avatar get cleaved completely in half, but stared in shock as the blade stopped just short of doing so.

In a last ditch effort, Nadar used the gap of his axe to catch Illfang's blade, his body shaking as his health went into the yellow and continued to drop. "You…" He growled as he looked up to Illfang, his strength stats managing to keep Illfang from making the final push to split him apart. "You won't kill anyone else!" With a skill activation, he pushed the blade back the way it came, stopping his health from dropping and stunning the boss.

As he landed a heavy slash across its gut, Illfang's recovery activated and he threw a punch right into Nadar, knocking him clean off his feet and sliding back onto the floor. His health had now entered the red, a mere 10% remaining from the massive blows he took.

Illfang was about to continue his attack against Nadar, but was stopped as Kirito cut it across the chest, sending it a meter back. "Asuna, follow me for one last attack! Hachiman, cover Nadar so he can get his health back!"

"You got it!" The two responded as they went to their positions, with Asuna rushing right beside Kirito at equal speed. As the two reached the boss, it threw a downward slash right at them, being interrupted as Hachiman landed a throwing dagger right into its eye.

"Finish it!"

Asuna was the first to land a blow, jabbing her rapier into Illfang's gut before Kirito landed a solid cut across its chest again. And following it after, he began to cut up across it diagonally, screaming as he went past its virtual flesh. "You're going down!" As the blade finally sliced through Illfang's head, the boss glowed bright before exploding into shards.

A congratulation pop up then appeared in the middle of the corridor as it started to dim, leading everyone to cheer in joy. As they did, Nadar sighed before grabbing a health potion and drinking it. As his health slowly went back to the yellow, he looked to his left to see Hachiman groan before sitting next to him, clearly exhausted form the fight.

"Man, that was brutal." The spearman said as he took a breather, his health in the lower yellow after the last attack he took.

Nadar shrugged as he finished his potion, still not in the green but good enough to avoid worrying about death. "I hear you on that one. I mean look at me." He then waved his dismembered arm at Hachiman, looking at the red grid at the cut point. "All that was missing was Illfang saying "I'm your father"."

"That'll recover in an hour." Hachiman stated, pulling out his own health potion to drink. "I'll be honest with you, that was easily the dumbest and most reckless move I have ever seen in gaming history. You're lucky to be alive right now."

"Not luck, stupid stat choices." Nadar countered. "After all, I put half of my points into vitality, I doubt anyone here at my level went so focused as that. But hey, it's what kept me alive, isn't it."

"I'd say it's more on your damn luck." Hachiman chuckled, sighing once he finished his potion.

"Your beta testers, aren't you?" Nadar asked, surprising Hachiman as his potion vanished.

"How did you-"

"It isn't that difficult to tell." Nadar explained. "I saw you and Kirito out while I was hunting. You two definitely looked better then the rest of the rejects here. Not only that, you both did moves that I never saw before. Add in noticing the difference between the beta and now, I was able to get the idea."

"And you didn't call us out?"

"Why bother, it doesn't change anything other than you're both just more experienced. And besides, without you two this would've likely ended with all us dying. We all owe you a big thanks-"

"Stop cheering!"

"Oh God damn it." Nadar muttered, hearing Kibaou shout over all the other players congratulating Kirito.

"Why did you do it? Why did you let Diavel die?" Kibaou demanded, confusing the whole raid party.

"Let him die?" Kirito echoed, caught off guard by the question.

This served only to anger Kibaou further as he glared at the beta tester. "You know what I mean! You knew the bosses attack pattern and didn't warn Diavel! If you just told us, then Diavel wouldn't have to die!"

"I know why he knew!" The spearman in Kibaou's team called out, pointing to Kirito. "He used to be a beta tester! Think about it, he knew the boss' attack patterns. He knew, but he kept it from us! And I bet he isn't the only beta tester here either! Come on, show yourselves!"

"Just a break, that's all I wanted." Nadar groaned as he grabbed his axe and pushed himself up with it. "But I forgot that stupid doesn't wait for the functional people to ready themselves."

"What are you going to do?" Hachiman asked, getting up along with Nadar.

"Something Diavel certainly wouldn't agree with." He responded, his sights set on Kibaou with a near murderous gaze. "But I won't let Diavel's work go down the drain like this. Not for a something as petty as this."

Nadar slowly walked over to Kibaou, his footsteps heavy enough to be echoed across the whole room as he approached the player. "Kibaou, let's have a word about what you said." The tension in the air was so thick that it could be cut with a knife, and Nadar's axe glowed to life when he stood just a few feet from Kibaou. "You blame beta testers for Diavel's death, huh? Saying that since they did the beta they should know everything?"

"Yeah, and what if I am?" Kibaou asked, flinching in shock when Nadar's axe just went past him, a small scratch forming his cheek as his health fell into the red.

Nadar's cursor then turned orange, his lips forming into a twisted grin as he looked at the shocked player. "You're blaming the wrong party for the result." He then held his axe out, letting Kibaou and everyone else see it as he turned to the main party. "This axe here is in the hands of the actual murderer here, and you all know it! Diavel trusted me to preform my job and I did so, but I knew better. Yes, some beta testers knew the facts of this fight, but things had clearly changed."

"Diavel was a noob that got himself killed by mistaking a talwar for a nodachi. You don't even need to be a beta tester to see the difference." Nadar then started to walk through the group, his eyes trained on each player as he passed them. "I could've saved him, but I wanted that last-attack bonus for myself. A rare item drop that I learned by extorting the info from the first beta tester I met. It's a shame I lost it, guess getting a sacrifice done right is harder than I thought."

"You… you what?" Kibaou questioned as tears started to form in his eyes. "You let him die like that? You were selfish enough to go for something like a rare drop? You're, you're worse then a beta tester then. You're a God damn cheater!"

"Yes, I am!" Nadar shouted back, stopping at the base of the stairs to turn back to everyone. "Because when survival is on the line, you do what it takes to live. I've made my own promises on survival, and I won't let something like a single death weigh me down. Beta testers have done nothing but try to help you, they aren't your enemy. If you want someone to hate, to push to be better than, then look to take down a killer like me."

Nadar then chuckled as he started to walk up the stairs, putting his axe away as he took his first step. "If you can't beat a murderer, then you aren't strong enough to survive much longer. So all you rejects should try and get stronger, or else I'll probably be the last one standing. And no one wants that."

"Hold up!" Hachiman called out to Nadar when he made it halfway up the steps. When he turned to face him, he saw that both Hachiman and Kirito were behind him, the latter wearing a black cloak. Most likely from the item drop. "Why are you doing this?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do." Kirito said. "You're taking the fall for everything. You keep defending beta testers by looking like the bad guy. Why are you doing it like this?"

"Well, a friend of mine always told me I made a great villain." Nadar responded, a small trace of a smile forming across his lips. "I'm just using that talent I must have to cement myself in my first MMO. Nothing too out of the ordinary." Nadar then opened his menu and went to the party, leaving it as he turned back around. "I should probably get out of here before I'm attack by someone. See ya around, maybe?"

"Like hell you're going off on your own." Hachiman interrupted, grabbing Nadar's arm before he could escape. "You risked a lot standing up for us, even more by taking the blame for a game change like Illfang's weapon. I think I speak for both of us when we at least should stick together."

"He's right, we owe you that much at least." Kirito added, looking back to see Asuna approach them. "Why don't you guys head on? I'll explain some things to Asuna."

"Don't take too long." Hachiman said, letting go of Nadar and walking past him. As he did, he failed to notice Nadar's smile widen for a split second before it turned back into a frown.

' _Don't worry guys.'_ Nadar thought as he started to follow Hachiman, the two pushing together to open the door to the next floor. _'I promise I'll work alongside these two. I won't leave or fail them like you.'_ And with one last look back at the raid party, he gave a vile grin and wave before walking through the gate, preparing himself to take on the rest of Aincrad.

"Bring it on Kayaba. I'll be ready next time."


	3. The Moonlit Black Cats

"To us, the Moonlit Black Cats! Cheers everyone!"

"Cheers!"

' _How did they drag me into this?'_ Nadar thought to himself as he, Hachiman and Kirito sat at a table. The three had been together as a group for a little over four months now, and have played a major role in clearing several of the floors.

Each had on better gear, with Hachiman capable of wearing more armor, having more knives equipped and a new metal spear. Kirito had on a new cloak and sword equipped, both bonuses from getting last hits on monsters. And as for Nadar, he was still wearing the same shirt from floor one, but now had on a grey chest plate and a single gauntlet on his left arm. As for his weapon, he had upgraded to a two handed war axe that had three horns coming out one side and the head of the bull on the other, the axe having been dropped after he managed to land the final blow on the second floor: Asterius the Taurus King.

After Illfang, the players had picked up the pace in clearing each floor, usually taking a week or two before finishing one and heading to the next. As some of the highest-level players on the front lines, the trio had been out hunting through a labyrinth when they encountered the Moonlit Black Cats, a mid-level guild that was caught cornered by the mobs. It was by pure luck the three were down on a lower floor when they found them, otherwise the five would've certainly died.

And as a way of showing their appreciation towards them, the Black Cats invited them to the local alehouse on floor 11 to buy them a meal. Out of the three of them, Hachiman was clearly the most active at the table, standing with the Black Cats as they touched their glasses together. Meanwhile, Kirito sat slightly awkwardly with his glass in hand, while Nadar was the farthest from the table, drinking quietly to himself while the guild remained hyped up.

"Oh, and I'd like to make another toast." Ducker, the treasure hunter of the guild called out, holding his drink out to the three. "To the three guys who saved our lives! To Kirito, Hachiman and Nadar!"

"Cheers!" The rest of the members of the guild cheered, all smiling as they looked at the three.

"Uh, cheers guys." Kirito responded.

"Why was I last?" Nadar mumbled, remaining quiet to avoid being called out.

"We can't thank you enough." Keita, the leader of the guild spoke, patting Hachiman on the shoulder when he did.

"Yeah, you really saved us there." Sasamaru, the spearman in the guild added.

"Man, you guys really got there at the perfect time." Tetsuo, the guild's tank thanked, motioning his glass to Kirito.

"Thank you, thank you so much." Sachi, the guild's backup and only girl among them said, the only one who was seemingly thanking all three rather than the two.

"It was nothing, we were glad to help." Hachiman responded, smiling as he held his glass up. "I'm just glad we were able to save you guys before something bad happened."

"I can't tell you how scared I was. And it made me so happy when you came to save us I…" Sachi was unable to finish, tears almost forming in her eyes which lead Nadar to sigh and sit further back into his chair.

"Oh um, Mr. Kirito?" Keita spoke out to Kirito, the all but named leader of the trio. "I hope I'm not out of line in asking this, but I was wondering what levels you were all at?"

"…LV. 20." Kirito answered, getting both Nadar and Hachiman to look at him in shock/confusion respectively.

"Wow, you're the same level as us and only traveling as a group of three?" Keita asked, shocked at how their skill compared. "You're all an inspiration."

"Keita, we're not your bosses." Hachiman interrupted, moving to stand next to Kirito while Nadar sat up straight. "And even then, we're still just player like you. And since we're a bigger party we can't go hunting anywhere good enough to boost our levels."

' _What are they doing?'_ Nadar thought, putting his glass down as he observed the talk.

"Oh, right." Keita commented, believing the three were at his level. "Well in that case, I hate to spring this on you here, but if you want we'd love to have you in our guild." Keita's offer surprised all three of them, the leader looking over to his guild while patting Sachi's head. "Tetsuo's our only member able to fight on the front. And then there's Sachi over here. I was thinking of switching her over to a sword and shield, that way she can fight on the front lines."

"Well that's kind of dumb, honestly." Nadar stated, speaking up for the first time. "Making that kind of a switch from a spear is asking for all kinds of trouble. Especially since she doesn't seem to fight too much on her own."

"I… guess you're right." Sachi muttered, looking down as she held her glass with both hands.

Nadar then grunted when he saw Sachi visibly sadden, causing him to continue on. "I was referring to you having a shield on you. That thing would slow you down too much from what you're used to. Take it from the guy with a war axe, maneuverability is essential if you want to go for a damage boost."

' _Why did I just say that!?'_

"Oh, thanks for the advice!" Tetsuo responded. "And here I thought you were the brute in the group."

"I'll rip you in half if I get the chance." Nadar whispered quiet enough for the guild to not hear him, but was kicked below the table by Kirito. "No… problem… buddy."

"You okay?" Ducker asked, noticing Nadar forcing a smile.

"I'm fine." He said behind gritted teeth. "Well, it was nice of you to give us a meal, but we should probably get going. Don't want to take up too much of your guys' time."

"Wait, you didn't say anything about joining our guild." Keita tried to stop Nadar as he got up, just missing his shoulder as he tried to walk out.

"The offer's nice but we're much better-"

"Working together as one large team!" Hachiman interrupted, quickly getting between Nadar and any chances of escape.

"What. Are you. Doing?" Nadar whispered to the spearman as Hachiman put his arm around Nadar's shoulder.

"Getting you to make some new friends." Hachiman whispered back, before speaking up. "We'd all love to be a part of your guild. It's sound like it'd be a lot of fun!"

"Now hold up!" Nadar objected. "I didn't agree to this!"

"Are you nervous about fitting in?" Keita asked. "I noticed you've been kind of skulking back while we talked. I'm guessing you were often the one guy left out or something?" The comment caused Nadar to freeze, leading Hachiman to get a little nervous. "But you don't have to worry like that. We're all friends in the real world, and as far as any of us are concerned you're already a part of the group."

"Come on man, I'm sure we'll all be able to get along." Kirito added, smiling as everyone else looked at him.

Nadar looked back at each of them individually, stopping when Sachi gave her own nervous smile. It took a few minutes, but Nadar eventually relented and sighed. "Ugh, fine. Just stop looking at me like that."

That got wide smiles from everyone as they all gathered around the three, getting into Nadar's personal space. He was about to reach for his axe when he stopped himself, having to remind himself that he isn't supposed to attack random people. He would most likely get kicked off the raid party for another boss if he did.

After the guild celebrated taking in three new members, they all made their way back to the small inn that they stayed in. The three opted to get their own separate rooms, with Nadar currently lying on his bed while looking up at the roof. "I'm in a guild. Now I have five more people to watch over." He then groaned as he turned over to look out the window, staring at the moon. "This isn't going to go well, I know it."

There was then a knock at the door, getting Nadar's attention. "Hey Nadar, it's Hachiman. Can I speak to you for a moment?"

"The door isn't locked." Nadar said as he sat up, looking over to the spearman as he entered.

"Okay, now I know you're probably a little mad."

"I told you we shouldn't ever join a guild."

"I know, but this is something to help grow stronger."

"How?" Nadar scoffed. "By getting to know everyone? To get a stronger bond that'll be stronger than iron? To serve as motivation when they die and we're the only ones left, because they think we're the same level as them and not as experienced as we actually are!?"

"They won't die." Hachiman responded calmly, letting Nadar's growing anger go over him. "We'll be able to keep them safe. We can handle watching out for a few more people."

"We both know I won't risk my neck for them." Nadar countered. "And I doubt us dying to save just one of them would be the worse mistake of our lives."

"You know, I recall YOU being the one that charged in to save them." Hachiman brought up. "In fact, you ran right in and knocked the fox demon off of Sachi in the first place. Kirito and I followed in after."

"It was just a small act. Nothing more than saving a few fuckups from getting a game over."

"A small act?" Hachiman echoed, chuckling as he did. "Nadar, you still have barely any agility points, but you ran faster than I've ever seen you before. You heard the scream and booked it like you turned into a wild beast."

Nadar refused to respond to that, instead lying back down and turning away from Hachiman as he did. The spearman sighed as he put a hand on his head, expecting the response. "Nadar, I agreed to this because I know you need to open up. You've been picked out as the worse guy in this game for four months now. You've had an orange cursor over you longer than a green one. And don't forget how many times you could've been kicked off the assault team."

"You need friends, Nadar. And maybe this little guild will help you understand that." Hachiman then opened the door, taking once last look back to Nadar. "You don't have to be best friends with them right off the bat. Just, start small okay? Talk to one of them at least." He then closed the door, leaving the player to think over his words.

"Every time I do try, someone dies." Nadar muttered, know that no one could hear him. "Why bother when the end result will always be the same?"

Time then began to pass by as the guild went on to the daily routine they've had. Before they had to stick to floor 11, since they were only nine levels up and had five members. But with the assistance of their newest members, the Moonlit Black Cats were able to get their hunting done up at floor 20, which lead to them getting better loot and EXP.

Over that time, Hachiman and Kirito were forming a close connection to the guild, spending time outside of their guild hunts with them. On the other hand, Nadar spent most of his free time heading up to floor 28, grinding and boosting his level without telling them where he was running off. But even then, Keita and the rest of the guild were trying to get him to open up, and take part in their other daily activities.

But Nadar was adamant to do his best to form too close of a connection to the guild. His caution over their safety and chances of survival far outweighed any attempt at bonding with them in his mind. To him, this guild meant more to Kirito than him or Hachiman, so he felt like he owed Kirito enough to work hard to keep up with the assault team. They weren't slouching, by no means were Kirito and Hachiman letting their levels fall behind his. But he had the limits of his stats, and knew that it would only be a matter of time before something went wrong.

"You can't just keep running back." However, there was one thing he did outside of grinding. In front of him was Sachi, wielding a long sword while fighting against a wolf man. In comparison to health, Sachi was ahead by a bit, but given her stats he knew she could do better.

"I'm sorry!" But she was too timid to just fight like him. She was too scared to take advantage of the mob's lower level and ability. Kirito was supposed to be the one to train her, but Nadar knew that he would be too easy on the girl. So he took over the mantle, which has been taking a slow step over the past few days.

"Stop apologizing and hit it!" Nadar shouted, scaring her and distracting her from her opponent. From the opening given, the wolf man landed a claw across her chest, sending her health down into the yellow.

"Ugh, damn it." Nadar groaned, pulling out his war axe and walking towards her. As the beast landed another hit and knocked her down, he stepped between them and blocked a third attack with the pole of his axe. The block had stopped the beast dead in its tracks, allowing him to push it back and stun it. "Hit it!"

"R-Right!" Sachi stuttered as she got back up. With a nervous war cry, she ran forward and stabbed it, managing to lower the beast's health into the red. Nadar then finished it with a swing to its neck, cleaving the head clean off before it disappeared.

"That was… close." Sachi panted as she sat down, exhausted from the dragged out fight.

"It wouldn't have been if you actually attacked." Nadar responded, putting away his axe as he looked down to her. "You're far too cautious, you won't make any kind of attack on your own unless someone tells you to. You'll never make it far if you have to be told what to do for everything."

"I-I'm sorry." Sachi muttered, looking away in shame as she did.

"I said stop apologizing!" Nadar shouted. He then sighed as he placed a hand on his face. "God, nothing goes through to you. How did you make it this far without screwing up and getting your whole team killed?"

"Because… you saved us when I did."

"Huh?" Nadar hummed, barely hearing what she said. "My detection skill isn't too great, you have to speak up if you're going to whisper from that far away."

"I… I did almost get us all killed." Sachi spoke louder, just enough for him to be able to hear. "In the dungeon, we were fighting a mid-tier group of mobs. They weren't anything too dangerous on their own, but the leader had a special ability. When he was the last one, he let's out a roar that summons another group, doubling in size after each one. I was supposed to deliver the last attack, but I froze and… and…"

"And then you were surrounded by twelve mobs that have full health." Nadar finished, knowing the rest of the story. "So you know that your timidity is putting your friends in danger, but you still haven't done anything against it?" He asked, getting a no from her. "Looks like you're luckier than I thought. And just as stupid as all the other rejects sitting down in the Town of the Beginnings."

He didn't even have to look at her to know she was on the verge of crying now, a few sobs escaping her lips. Nadar groaned once he heard her, finding it harder to deal with the girl as time went on. "Christ, I can't believe I'm doing this." He then opened his inventory, selecting on a sword and catching it as it appeared.

"Stop crying and get up." Nadar said as he grabbed one of her hands and forced her to stand up. Then he shoved the sword into Sachi's arms, surprising her as he had her attention. "That sword has a lot higher stats then the one you have. You're going to heal up, and then we're spending the whole damn day getting you to actually have some aggression."

"Where… where did you get this?" Sachi asked, surprised at the stats she was seeing on the sword.

"The guys and I used to be on the assault team when they were on the lower floors. We created a shared inventory for the equipment we got when the boss was defeated." It wasn't the full truth, thanks to the fact the sword came from floor 23, but it was from the shared inventory mentioned.

"And that sword's origin is the least of your worries right now." Nadar warned, turning away as he started to work. "We're going through the area where the most mobs spawn in the fields. I'll be working you to get you stronger."

"Thank you." Sachi bowed, equipping the sword to replace her old one.

"Don't thank me yet." The axe man commented, looking over his shoulder to Sachi as she ran to catch up. "I won't be jumping in to save you when the situation gets dicey. If you want to survive, you're going to have to stop running and start standing up for yourself."

That caused Sachi to pause, fear in her eyes at how calmly Nadar spoke. "You'll… you'd let me die?"

"If you fight instead of cowering in fear, I won't have to." He then turned his attention back ahead of him, keeping an even pace as he spoke. "This is a world where anyone can be practically gods fighting against titans. And then weaklings like you show up and drag those that have so much potential down and stopping progress."

"If you're scared of your friends dying, stop hiding behind them and start fighting beside them." Nadar added, focusing his gaze at four wolf men as they spawned in. "Become stronger and you won't have to say goodbye to anyone."

Sachi stared at Nadar's back as he stopped, hearing the traces of pain in his voice when he finished. She didn't know why, but Nadar's previous cold words felt as if there was a completely other weight to them. He was obsessed with being stronger, but he hoped for the others around him to get stronger as well.

She was still scared, but she knew that what he said was true. That if she wanted to be helpful to her friends she couldn't just hide behind them forever. And in steeling herself she ran past Nadar, missing the small smirk on his face as she rushed the wolf men, activating a skill as she reached the first one. "Hyaah!"

The rest of their time was spent with Sachi fighting against the mobs afterwards. While she was able to go through the ones they encountered, she had ran out of healing potions about halfway through the night. And when she expected Nadar to keep making her fight, he gave her a teleport crystal to head back to Taft.

Instead of teleporting with her, Nadar had gone through the field on his own. He was able to cut loose and clear out the mobs before deciding he had earned enough loot and col to head back. By the time he was back at Taft, the sun was already poking out from the horizon, lighting up the floor.

Hachiman was waiting for him outside of the inn, a smirk on his face that caused Nadar to groan. "So, you're back late. Any reason why?"

"I only brought one teleport crystal and gave it to Sachi." Nadar yawned, trying to ignore Hachiman as he opened the door.

"Sachi also happened to have a new sword when she showed up. It reminded me of the one Kirito got in one of the boos raids." Hachiman added, getting Nadar to stop as he opened the door. "I wonder who could have given it to her? I certainly didn't and Kirito never goes back into that inventory."

"Tell the guild I'm sleeping in today." Nadar said quietly, closing the door and heading up into his room.

Hachiman could only give a light chuckle as he saw Nadar walk away, closing his eyes before heading out. _'You're growing Nadar, just give it more time.'_

"Hey Hachiman." Keita spoke up as the spearman made it to the center of town to meet the guild. "You took a bit longer to get here than normal."

"Sorry, I was staying behind to check up on Nadar." Hachiman explained. "The guy was up all night and he plans on sleeping in for today."

"Is he okay?" Sachi asked, worried since she didn't see the guild's axe user come back during the night.

"He's fine Sachi." Hachiman promised, patting her shoulder. "He just has some things he needs to work through. And once he does I'm sure he'll be better."

"What the hell am I doing!?" Nadar shouted as he slammed his fist against the wall. "Why did I give her that damn sword? I get me being pissed about her being too much of a coward to fight, but I've never wasted my time on a nobody. Even if I see-" Nadar then completely stopped talking, a shocked expression left on his face as he realized what was going on.

.

.

.

"MOTHER FUCKER!"

"Nope, fuck this." Nadar quickly spoke, opening his menu. "Fuck this guild and fuck everyone involved. I don't need this now or ever, I didn't ask for it and there's no way I'm going to stick with it like…" As he navigated through his menu, he paused as he clicked on Abandon Guild.

 **Do you wish to abandon the Moonlit Black Cats?**

His finger hovered over the Yes, some unknown force keeping him from pressing the button. It looked as if his own body was fighting against the desire to leave, his finger shaking as he looked at the message. "What am I waiting for? Just push the button and go. It's that easy." He thought out loud, trying to convince himself to press the button. "Kirito and Hachiman can handle themselves, and I'm more than able to go solo. Just. Push. The. BUTTON!"

"You don't need them! You were alone back then, so it won't be any different now!" He struggled internally as he is finger hovering just over the button. He then closed his eyes, steeling himself to abandon the guild. "You never needed anyone back then so why should I need someone now!?"

" _Because you're in pain."_

A single tear dropped as Nadar he opened his eyes, seeing that his hand moved and pressed down on the No button. When his menu vanished, he stared down at his hand in a mixture of anger and confusion as his whole body was trembling. He could feel his brain working itself to its limit as he couldn't process what was running through his head.

"GOD DAMN IT!"

"Man, that was a good hunt." Ducker grinned as the guild teleported back into Taft, the sun going down as they did.

"I'll say." Sasamaru said as they started to head towards the alehouse to celebrate. "We got so much more loot and EXP than before. We even managed to level up from today's work."

"And it's thanks to Sachi here giving fighting a shot." Keita spoke, patting the girl's head as he did. "That new sword of yours really cut through some of those mobs. You've even started standing up more and helping Tetsuo and Kirito on the front."

"It's nothing." Sachi dismissed, looking away as she did. "I still backed down when the bigger threats came around. I only helped with the weaker ones."

"But that's still progress." Kirito countered, smiling at the girl. "Back then you were too scared to help at all really. But now you're starting to step up your game, and that helped us get as far as we did, even without Nadar here."

"Honestly I'd take her speed over his strength any day." Hachiman added. "Nadar's a great tank and damage dealer, but now that he's wearing more armor he's slowed down a lot. If he'd just put some points into his agility like I tell him too…"

"I understand that, but I can also understand Nadar's side in that." Kirito said. "It's boring to play the way that someone else tells you to play. This may have become a death game, but he still has to have some semblance of choice. I know I'd hate it if others forced me to play a way I wouldn't want to."

"And besides, there's no way that guy would do something like that." Ducker chuckled, reaching the alehouse first. "He's too stubborn to listen to someone else's advice on anything. And don't even get me started on-" Ducker's words died in his throat as he opened the door, staring in surprise at what he was seeing.

"Ducker?" Hachiman questioned. "Is there something wrong? Are you lagging right now or is the place filled?"

"No way." Ducker muttered, his eyes widening in excitement. "No way!"

"What are you… going on about?" The spearman continued, stopping for a second as he and the others were able to see through the door. Just about everyone stared in shock, excitement or a mix of the two as they saw Nadar standing at the front of their usual table. On the table was a wide variety of food and drinks, most of which were noted to be only found on the upper floors.

The axe man was standing in discomfort, holding a glass of wine in his right hand. "Okay Nadar… you can do this." The boy whispered to himself, gulping down the saliva that was blocking his throat. He then raised his glass to the guild, trying his best to give a smile. "Hey everyone, I just wanted to say that I… well I-I mean that there's… I sort of wanted to-to… ah, damn it." The boy was stuttering as he tried to speak, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Okay, I'll be honest instead of trying one of the seven speeches I had made." He decided, sounding a bit more determined when he did.

"I'm an asshole, I'll never deny it and will be the first to admit it. And I know that I've been acting like a real piece of shit ever since you accepted me into the guild. I've never been good in groups, both in games and IRL. In fact I usually only know one or two people at a time as friends." He then sighed as he turned his eyes away, letting the words come out on their own. "In fact, before getting stuck in here I've only ever been in a party once. Other than that, I've always run solo playing RPGs and shooters. So being a team player is still really new to me."

"But I can't let that excuse me for how I've treated all of you." He then looked at everyone, noticing that they had all piled into the building. "Kirito and Hachiman, I know it's annoyed you how I stock all my points up to save on strength and vitality, so I used the points I had left and put them into agility. It isn't anything impressive, but I should be as fast as I was without armor now." The two players stared in shock at Nadar, letting out a few shocked sounds as he continued on.

"Tetsuo, Sasamaru, I often have given you crap over how you spread your stats out too much with little focus other than strength and speed. I sometimes forget that people like to have a wide variety of skills rather than be a one trick pony like me. So I'm sorry."

"Keita, Ducker." Nadar went on, missing the surprised looks of the whole guild. "I always called you delusional daydreamers who always think too positively to be realistic. Honestly I think I do that as much as I do because I gave up on being the best guy that I can be. And seeing you two do that makes me sometimes wish I could be like that again, even if you two can be total idiots."

Nadar's joke managed to get a few chuckles out of the group before he turned to Sachi. He had to clear his throat again, coughing into his hand as he prepared himself. "Sachi, I've been the hardest on you when it comes with how I act. I was tasked with training you and I've been rather difficult to get any good advice other than get braver. I yell a lot, call you weak, and honestly I'm certain you're scared on me now because of that."

"But I want you to know that I only do that because I want to see you improve. Your form is a little misbalanced, but I can see a real fighter in your eyes, even if you don't. I'll try to be a better at being a teacher when we're out training, and try going at a pace that's better for you to learn." He then smiled as he saw the genuinely shocked expression on her face, recognizing it from another. "I'll still be hard on you, but I promise that I'll make you a true fighter. And once you've caught up to everyone, you can show them how strong you can become."

He then raised his glass above his head, giving a toothy grin as he felt a huge weight being lifted off of him. "You guys have all taken me in as both a guild member and as a friend. So I thought the least I could do is gather us up one hell of a feast to show I'm sorry over how I've acted and promise to try and get better. It was difficult getting the food from the higher levels, but the players that were selling them seemed to take pity on me for the occasion."

"Well, actually." Keita stared, getting Nadar's attention. "We never thought that you'd need to apologize. Because you're a part of our group, our family." The rest of the Moonlit Black Cats all gave their own smile or grin, surprising Nadar as they all were so positive. "We're grateful for you willing to change, but no matter how you were we always accepted you." Keita then flashed his own smile, giving Nadar a thumbs up as he did. "You're a Black Cat, and we'll always be glad to have you around with us!"

The guild leader's words caused Nadar to smile, the first real smile he's had ever since the game had started. "Well then, gather around and let's eat! This food wasn't cheap and I don't want it to run out of durability because we were all just standing around and talking."

That caused a cheer of laughter from most of the guild, all surrounding Nadar and smiling as they gave a toast to him. While they all did, Hachiman smiled from the sidelines, watching the boy while he gave a small laugh at a joke from Ducker. _'Looks like you're starting to grow up, Nadar. That'll be good for both this guild and everyone else.'_

"Oi, Hachiman!" Nadar called out, snapping the spearman out of his thoughts. "What are you doing just standing there? Come on and join the party! I went out of my way to get some of the food I remember you wouldn't shut up about back then!"

Hachiman laughed in response, smiling as he walked to the table. "Well I guess it'd be dishonorable of me to pass up a meal from a friend. Sure, I'll gladly accept this feast."

"Dude, stop talking like a samurai." Nadar muttered. "It's weird."

"Like you're one to talk."

"Oi!"

The whole guild laughed again as Nadar gave a smoldering look at the spearman, everyone gathering around the table to enjoy the feast provided. It was a lively and energetic night, the chances of it ending almost sounding like a mere fantasy.


	4. Big Brother

"It's going to slam again!" Nadar shouted as he ran forward, in front of him the five-meter tall Metallic elemental, floor 27's boss. As the boss was bringing both its arms down, Nadar's axe glowing red as he slashed forward, colliding against a massive metal arm and knocking it away. As the second arm was about to hit the ground, a man in red armor with a sword and shield blocked the limb, effortlessly stopping the slam from going through.

The man was none other than Heathcliff, leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath and the commander of the assault team. He had a complete focused face, not even a hint of worry as he kept the boss from finishing its devastating attack. No one asked or could learn what his stats were, but based on both his and Nadar's feats, most of the Assault Team believed they had nearly identical strength and health.

"Kirito, Hachiman, switch!" Nadar shouted as he swung his axe up, knocking Metallic elemental's arm up to allow Heathcliff to slash forward before moving back. When Nadar followed, the two called out players lunged forward and stabbed the boss' glowing chest, knocking it back and stunning it.

As the boss staggered back, Hachiman's eyes widened as he saw the last health bar dip into the red. "Now, while it's stunned!"

"Men, charge!" Heathcliff ordered, leading the final assault on the boss while those that weren't in the red moved in to attack. When the boss was about to recover from the stun Nadar, with his now boosted agility, managed to jump up high enough to slam his axe into the chest once more, prolonging the stun and giving them the ability to finish the boss.

Preparing a final sword skill, Kirito jumped well over Nadar and slashed his sword right through the elemental's head. Going right across it, the boss' health finally hit 0, causing the boss to glow bright blue before shattering into fragments. As the congratulations appeared at the center of the blue and grey room, almost all of the assault team collapsed in exhaustion. The only two still standing by the end of it were Heathcliff and Nadar, the latter panting lightly while the former kept his calm expression.

"How many… did we lose this time?" Kirito asked, looking over to Hachiman as he opened his menu.

Hachiman's gaze dimmed slightly as he did a head count, sighing in irritation as he put his spear down. "We lost 10, seven less than the Two-headed giant. Damn, we can't keep losing players like that."

"Can't save everyone." Nadar responded, using his axe as a walking staff. "Just focus on the ones that we can. Speaking of which…" Nadar said as he turned to Heathcliff, noting that his health was just a bit above his own. "Boss man, we should hand out a few health potions to those that ran out. We clearly don't have anything to worry about now, so it's best to keep the idiots still holding on alive."

"Sounds like a plan." Heathcliff nodded, opening his menu along with Nadar as they started to walk to the back of the group.

The sight caused Hachiman and Kirito to smile, seeing their axe man hand out potions to several players. "He's come a long way, hasn't he?"

"Yeah." Kirito nodded. "He's finally starting to act better and he might not have to keep up the bad guy persona for much longer. Beta testers aren't too big of a deal now so there won't be anyone for him to take heat for."

"Alright, spill it." The two both looked to their left, seeing Asuna approach them. Her health bar was low, having taken a near fatal blow from one of the boss' previous slams. Thanks to it, she had to remain back to avoid getting killed. But now with the boss gone, she was able to confront the two.

"Pardon?" Hachiman asked.

"What happened to him?"

"Um, Asuna, you're going to have to be a little more specific than that." Kirito said, rubbing the back of his head. "Who's he?"

"Him. Nadar." She answered, pointing back to the axe man. "The last time I saw him, he was more than willing to let players die over a simple mistake. But he had taken several hits just getting in between the shield users to take damage off of them. What happened since floor… 26?" Asuna paused, seeing the guild emblem over the two's health bars. "Did you… all join a guild?"

"Yeah, we joined one a few weeks ago called the Moonlit Black Cats. As for the change in Nadar, that's all a part of him growing closer to the guild." Kirito explained. "He opened up recently to them, after being… Nadar for the whole time we've been with them."

"How'd you all manage to even get in that guild with Nadar being…" Asuna hesitated as she looked back at the player, his expression annoyed as another player thanked him. "A cold-blooded killer?"

"That "cold-blooded killer" isn't a fair comparison." Hachiman defended. "Does he kill people? Yes, no one is ever going to deny that. But it isn't like he goes around cutting people in half for looking at him the wrong way. We all know what he does, otherwise we certainly wouldn't let him on the Assault Team. He's more of a person than our highest damage dealer."

"And besides, does it matter too much on the process we've gotten this much progress with him?" Kirito asked. "We've been in here for several months now, and in the past week I've seen him smile more times than since we first met him. The guild's been refreshing to be in, and it's clearly having a positive effect on all three of us."

"Question Nadar all you want Asuna, but he's much different than you think he is." Hachiman added, shrugging a shoulder up to her. "It's just like the old saying goes, never judge a book by its cover."

"I'm not." Asuna countered, eyeing Nadar as he kneeled down to give a player a potion. "He isn't known as Aincrad's Executioner for nothing. He doesn't even hesitate when he kills other players, regardless of the crime. Anyone who can ignore a cry for mercy isn't worth trusting."

The last words from Asuna left a bitter taste in the boys' mouths. They knew where her grounds came from and could understand why she stood where she did. Nadar is, or rather was, cutthroat. He was slowly starting to mellow out, he had to in order to hide his reputation from the Black Cats. But they knew a single slip up could set him off and it'd be a problem if the Assault Team didn't approve of his kills. But they could trust him, he doesn't often kill flat out without order unless the criminal's really don't deserve the chance.

After Nadar and Heathcliff had finished passing out potions, the axe man walked up to his guild mates in stride, passing a quick glare to Asuna which was returned. "We've been out for a few hours now, we should probably head back now before the others start to figure out we aren't gathering supplies from the upper floors."

"Oh, right." Kirito responded as the three pulled out teleport crystals. "Teleport, Taft." The moment the crystal's shattered, the three instantly spawned in the center of Taft, the moon illuminating the area for them.

And now that they were out of the boss room, all three of their menu's popped up with a message notification. "It's from Keita." Nadar said as he opened his first, reading the message out for all of them. ""Sachi went off somewhere and hasn't come back yet. We're heading to the dungeon now, please let me know if you find anything out." They're seriously heading out without her?"

"That doesn't seem smart, there's hardly enough of them to work efficiently like that." Hachiman spoke up. "We should probably go and back them up."

"Yeah." Kirito agreed.

"You two go on ahead." Nadar said, opening his map before he started walking away. "It's late out and a few rogue players have been setting their sights on floor 11. I don't feel too comfortable leaving Sachi alone when she isn't at the inn."

"How're you going to find her?" Kirito asked. "You don't have a high enough detection for the tracking skill."

"Players appear on the map if you're within 10 meters." Nadar responded. "All I have to do is guess the place she's most likely to be and hopefully get within that distance. Assuming she hasn't left the safe zone it shouldn't be too difficult to find her."

"Good luck then." Hachiman nodded. "Come on Kirito, the others will need us for the dungeon."

"Got it."

As the two ran off to meet with the rest of the guild, Nadar instantly dropped the map and put his hands in his pocket. He didn't need the map to know where Sachi went, his instincts giving a fair idea on her location. He had only spent ten minutes walking when he stepped onto a bridge that lead outside the town, leading him to jump over the edge and onto the walkway just next to the river.

"Nadar?" Just as he had predicted, Sachi sitting underneath the bridge. She had on her green cloak to deal with the cold and has hugging her knees to her chest.

"Why'd you run off?" Nadar asked as he walked closer to Sachi, sitting against the wall just outside of the bridge. The size of his axe made it difficult to sit, but he managed to shift it so that his armpit was using it as support. "Everyone was worried you might have gone off and gotten yourself hurt."

"…" Sachi remained silent for a second as she looked away, staring into the water as her thoughts plagued her. "Hey, Nadar? We should… run away."

"Run away?" Nadar echoed. "What are you talking about? What are you running away from?"

"From this town, from the monsters, and the Moonlit Black Cats. And from Sword Art Online as well."

Nadar's attention was instantly grabbed as he stared at the girl. "Sachi… you're not thinking about suicide right now, are you?"

The girl gave a single humorless chuckle in response. "It's not such a bad idea, isn't it?" She then shook her head as her face shadowed over, regretting her words after saying them. "Sorry, no. If I had the guts to die I wouldn't be hiding in town where it's safe, would I?"

' _It doesn't make me feel any better that you've considered it.'_ Nadar thought, frowning as he would listen to Sachi.

"But serious, why can't we just leave?" She asked. "Why do we have to die when it's just a stupid game? What's the point of going through all of this?" Nadar's gaze then looked down to the concrete bellow him, he himself not seeing a point in everything happening. "I'm… I've just been so afraid that I'm going to die in this world. I'm terrified, even with all of the support you and everyone else having been giving me. I can't even sleep because I'm scared I won't ever wake up again."

"You won't die." Nadar spoke, his voice soft as Sachi turned to him in surprise. "There's no way anything could come even close to killing you. You've gotten stronger since the first time I met you, your whole guild has. And what's more, you have Hachiman and Kirito supporting them to keep all of the pressure off you."

"What… what about you?" She asked, her voice shaking as Nadar looked over to her.

"I'll be right by your side for the rest of this game." He answered, surprising her further. "Nothing will ever get to you, because I promise I'll wipe it out before it even gets close." His fists then tightened as he looked to the water, his eyes slightly glowing as he saw his reflection. "What's more is I'll help you get stronger, even if you think your weak there's so much untapped strength in you."

"You… you mean it?" Sachi questioned softly. "You really think I'll survive? That I'm… strong enough to?"

"I know you are Sachi." Nadar responded, smiling over to her. "I know someone who was absolutely nothing when this game started, and they rose to a level most players couldn't imagine. You're not like him though, because you are something. One day I'm sure you'll be able to keep up with the best of the assault team, I bet even the commander would hesitate to take you on even."

From his words, tears started to fall from Sachi's eyes. She wasn't able to control herself as she saw Nadar get up and walk to her, standing herself and surprising him with a hug. "I… I promise that I won't be worthless! I don't know if… if I'll be able to reach your level. But I don't want you or the others to fight alone. I… I want to be stronger! I don't want to be afraid anymore and let everyone down!"

Nadar chuckled once as he lightly hugged Sachi back, trying his best to hold her supportively. "The hardest step is always the first one. Admitting your scared and asking for help is the most difficult thing someone can do in a life-or-death situation." He then separated them, putting his hands on her shoulders as he smiled. "But if we're going to do that, we have to go out hunting right now. Everyone else is heading to the usual place and we're too far behind to catch up. So we'll have to do some of our own leveling."

"R-right." Sachi choked, wiping her tears away the best she could as she looked up to Nadar. "I won't let you down. I'll do everything I can to get stronger."

"Everyone has their limits." Nadar spoke, patting Sachi's head as they started to walk. "Don't push yourself too far because you want to gain strength. You'll only drag yourself and everyone around you down."

"H-Hai."

"Now then, let's go do some leveling."

* * *

"Ha… ha… ha…" Sachi breathed heavily as she leaned against her sword. The two had been grinding mobs within the dungeon in floor 22 for over two hours now, going against mobs that pushed Sachi to her limit while Nadar acted as support. It was a struggle for Sachi, since they were on the floor above what she's used to doing with the guild. But with Nadar being more active in dealing damage, she was able to land some good blows without worrying about getting ambushed.

By now Sachi had risen up by a level, and with it Nadar deemed they would be good for the night. Right now they were just taking a break, with Nadar standing next to Sachi as she attempted to regain her breath. "Take your time, it's been a difficult day for you."

"How're you… still so relaxed?" Sachi asked as she gasped, looking at Nadar in surprise.

"I have a decent amount of points in strength and dexterity." He simple answered, keeping an eye open for if any mobs might respawn. "It doesn't allow me to do any fancy footwork, but I have plenty of stamina to work off of. I honestly think I might be pretty nimble if I took off my armor and went with a cloak or something."

"Maybe… but then you'd… have less defense."

"Yeah…" Nadar said slowly as he looked at his health bar, seeing the massive amount of HP he had. "That'd be… quite the problem. I'm uh… not sure what would happen if… my armor's durability wore off."

Unbeknownst to the two, they were slowly being surrounded by a group of players. They players were silent in their steps, having a good enough sneak skill to avoid Sachi's detection skill. The two were none the wiser as they got closer, several just behind the boulders around them.

Nadar then sighed as he sheathed his massive axe, lowering his guard as he opened his menu. "Well, I'd say we've had enough grinding for one day. Why not head back and show everyone the loot you… got…" Nadar slowly said as he looked up, seeing one of the player's cursors over a boulder. His eyes narrowed as he saw the orange cursor, his hand slowly lowering and deactivating his menu. "Sachi, go for your teleport crystal. Slowly."

"Nadar?" Sachi questioned, flinching as she saw him reach back for his axe. "What's wrong?"

"Sachi, just grab your crystal and get to Taft." He ordered, suddenly grabbing his axe as he saw the cursor move. However, as he went to take his first step he was instantly tackled from behind by two players, both of them placing a knee on his back and holding his arms down. "Sachi, run!"

"Nadar!" Sachi screamed as she went for her sword, her arm getting grabbed as the player Nadar spotted came out from hiding and held it behind her back.

"Well then, looks like we've got ourselves an easy grab boys." The one who grabbed Sachi said, the remaining four players coming out into the open. Out of the group three had knives while the four others, including the ones holding Nadar down, had swords.

' _Damn it, these are the criminal players we were told about.'_ Nadar thought in anger as he saw the snake emblems above the enemy players. He then turned his head to the two on top of him, preparing himself to knock them into the next century before he froze. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw them with green icons, but they clearly shared the same emblems as the others. _'They're… hiding their status?'_

"Surprised by our friends?" The lead player asked, grinning at seeing Nadar and Sachi's shocked looks. "Yeah, most of the suckers we've ran in to had that same look as you did. Of course though…" He said slowly ad he used his free hand to grip Sachi's chin, turning her face to look her in the eyes. "Not many of the female players we run into look as good as you do."

"Bastard." Nadar grunted as he tried to push the players off of him, getting pushed back down as a result. He knew that he'd be able to break free if he used his full strength, but he'd injure the two on him and would go orange. And without Kirito or Hachiman being witnesses, the Assault Team would believe he committed a legit crime. He'd be locked up like any other criminal, which would do far more harm than good.

"Let me go!" Sachi tired to fight against the player's grip, but froze as one of the others put a knife to her face.

"Struggling wouldn't be a good option right now." The leader stated, grinning as he stared her down. "My strength stat is well above yours. And if you continue to fight against us, well, we have a reputation of leaving no survivors if they struggle."

"Serpent Strikers." Nadar growled, getting the guild's attention as he continued to try and push them off. "You're the orange guild that's been terrorizing players from floor 20. You wait for when they've cleared out the mobs in the area and then attack, like a bunch of cowards."

"Quiet!" One of the orange swordsmen shouted, impaling his sword into Nadar's shoulder. "We plan ahead of all the other loser players. Once you've exhausted yourselves fighting the minions, we can move in and take you down easily. It's the best trick in the book."

"Tricks like that are nothing but illusions." Nadar growled back, his eyes wide with anger as he stared the swordsman down. "You're all nothing but punks too scared to fight a party in a straight up fight. So you hide in the shadows and wait for your victims to get weak and kill them outright."

"Now that isn't true." The swordsman grinned as he pushed the sword into Nadar further. "We've spared a few people before. We aren't complete animals."

"You spared the women who you violated!" Nadar shouted, his eyes wide in rage as he managed to scare the swordsman back. "Those players were in complete shambles! You drove them into such states that they couldn't take the pain in the memories and killed themselves! Only one of them remained alive enough to speak to the Assault Team because of you bastards!"

"Will you shut up!" The two spare swordsmen then both impaled Nadar, driving their blades all the way down till their hilts touched his back.

"Nadar!"

"Shut it." As Sachi tried to break free to help Nadar, the leader tightened his grip on her, his strength stat high enough to cause a bit of damage from the action. "What did I tell you about if you resisted? Do you really want to die like the rest of our targets?"

"Don't listen to him Sachi!" Nadar shouted slamming his head against the floor as he felt his blood boil. "He's not going to do anything else to you! These bastards will be as good as dead once I'm done with them!"

"Big talk coming from a weakling like… you?" The leader started as he looked back to the axe user, his eyes widening in horror as he saw Nadar's health. It was slowly falling, but the amount was so little he might as well have been blocking. Despite the two long swords in his back, his health was still safely in the green since the beginning. "What the hell?"

"What… did you call me?" Nadar said coldly as he suddenly stopped resisting. His body language broadcasted complete confidence, not even a hint of emotion as he laid still.

"N-Nadar?" Sachi whined as she gave up on freeing herself. She looked over to her friend, her own look of surprise plastered on her when she saw the health he had.

"Tell me… what's the average level for your guild?" Nadar asked calmly.

"Level 27, higher than any loser that'd still be on this floor." One of the swordsman answered, not noticing his health bar's safe condition. "No one still on floor 20 can dare keep up with us, and I sincerely doubt you can either."

"Level 27. How quaint." Nadar chuckled as he looked up to the swordsman, his eyes shaking with rage. "I remember when I first heard of you guys when we were on floor 25. You were the most dangerous group we had to worry about at the time, but it looks like you've let yourselves go." He then looked back to the player that was holding the right side of him down. "Black hair, green eyes, single long sword and medium weight armor. You're the one who the only living victim told us about."

"What?"

"Which means…" Nadar then surprised the players around him as he pulled his arm up, grabbing the back of the player's head. "You die first." Then, without so much as a warning, Nadar pulled his face down and impaled it into his axe. The look of pure horror on his face was seen for just a few seconds before his health hit 0 and his avatar shattered.

"What… what was that?"

"He killed him in one hit."

"Unfortunately for all of you… I'm a much higher level." Nadar breathed out as his cursor turned orange and he grabbed the other player on him, throwing him effortlessly off. Before the swordsmen could pull their swords out of him, he pushed himself off the ground and punched them both away, knocking off a tenth of their health.

"Level 27, such a rookie number these days." Nadar commented as the swords slide out of him, clattering to the ground as he unsheathed his axe. "Nowadays, if you want to be considered pro, I'd get to level 38 or higher. Of course though, that still wouldn't prepare you for the hell I'm about to rain down on you."

"Wait… that axe." The leader said in shock as he took notice of the design. "An axe with horns, incomplete set of armor, red shirt. I remember hearing about, when the Sour Tongue was wiped out. Why? Why are you down here?" He asked in fear as Nadar's eyes glowed, his axe turning red as he prepared a skill. "Why is Aincrad's Executioner down here on floor 22?"

"No way…" Sachi gasped as she stared at Nadar as he walked towards the criminal guild.

"Wait, you don't mean the Assault Team's attack dog, do you?" One of the dagger users questioned, staring back at his boss in surprise. "The guy who kills players as some kind of sick game?"

"That's rich coming from a guild of murderers." Nadar chuckled, his eyes slowly turning from rage to near insanity, his fingers twitching as he gripped his axe tightly. "But I guess you're right about one thing. There is a certain… enjoyment I get from killing bastards like you. But I've been in a good mood for the week so I'll give you a chance for survival. Release Sachi and turn yourselves in to the Assault Team and I'll allow you to live."

"You think you're in control?" The guild's leader snarled as he pulled out his sword, holding it across Sachi's chest as he stared Nadar down. "I'm the one with a hostage, with a means of getting you to stand down and leave. So I'm changing the deal. You use that teleport crystal of yours to leave, and we'll send the pretty little lady here back to where she's supposed to be. Otherwise, well… she won't have to be in this death game for much longer."

"Nadar, there's too many of them. If you go then there's at least a chance we'll survive." Sachi tried to reason with Nadar, scared that Nadar might try to fight the entire guild alone. She always saw him as a collected player, but seeing the borderline crazy blaze in his eyes, she didn't know what he would do.

"You honestly don't understand the weight of the situation." Nadar responded, ignoring Sachi's plea as he started to walk forward, causing the criminals to take a quick step back. "I have the power to kill each and every one of you here, and I certainly have the drive and reason to. If you honestly think that you can barter your way out of this after threatening someone I promised to protect, then I'll be the first to say there isn't a chance in hell."

"Stay back!" The leader shouted, his cool completely gone as Nadar's axe grew brighter. "If you get any closer, than I'll skewer this bitch without a second thought!"

"Sachi, remember what I said?" Nadar asked as he stopped, his sane gaze returning to speak to the girl. "You have untapped potential, possibly more than anyone I know. I can take care of the goons, but you have to be the one to stop him."

"But Nadar, I can't-"

"Yes you can!" He shouted as he lunged forward, heading right for the two unarmed players and slashing horizontally, his attack killing one of the players in one hit while the other lost half his health. "Stop thinking about your fear and just fight! You don't have to beat him, just survive!"

"Damn it, get him!" The leader shouted, ordering his men to attack Nadar as he recovered from his attack. He then looked down to Sachi, preparing to cut across her chest. "Time to gut you like a fi-gck!" Before he could finish his threat, Sachi summoned all of her will and slammed her head against his chin. The hit managed to stun him and allowed her to get out of his grip, getting some distance away to pull her sword out.

"I… I won't let him fight alone!" She declared in defiance, still shaking in fear from fighting the higher-level player. "Even if you're stronger than me, I can't… won't leave Nadar to do everything!"

"You made the worst decision of your life bitch!" The leader screamed as he rushed Sachi, slashing forward and striking her sword. While she did manage to block the attack, his higher strength stat made the blow nearly break her guard. "You think you have a chance!? That you can be of any use!?" He continued to shriek in desperation, striking in quick furry to try and finish her. He knew that if he didn't take her down by the time Nadar wiped out his guild, that he was as good as dead.

Despite his attempt to negotiate, the leader knew well enough that all of his guild fighting together wouldn't be able to beat him. The amount of health that he possessed was monstrous with just stats, but with the class he had set up it was completely OP. The only chance they'd have would be to run, given his lack of speed. But he knew what they looked like, and he didn't doubt for a second that Nadar would hunt them down across all of Aincrad to find them.

"Why. Won't. You. Die!?" He shouted as he kept his onslaught up, never managing to break Sachi's guard. While his attacks were dealing damage through her blocks, it had done little more than now put her into the yellow.

"If Nadar can stand strong against criminals like you, then I'll do it too!" She shouted back, feeling a boost of adrenaline give her the drive to throw her own attack at the leader. The attack came virtually out of nowhere to him, causing her to land a small cut on his arm.

"Y-You…" He seethed in rage as he looked at the injury, his desperation boiling closer to fear as he saw Nadar wiping out his guild like flies. "You bitch!" With a strength-based skill, he struck Sachi's sword with so much force that she lost grip of it. She stared in shock as he raised his sword up, preparing for another skill as his eyes glinted with a mixture of fear and anger. "You damn bitch!"

As the attack went down, Sachi felt herself get pulled back with so much force that she lost her balance and fell back. As she looked up, she saw Nadar take the attack to his shoulder. His health did go down more than all the other attacks, but it was clear that all of the fighting had done little to injure him.

The leader stared in fear as Nadar's axe glowed to life, heading right for his chest as the player didn't even react to his attack. "Don't ever call her a bitch." Nadar's cool and calculated persona had resurfaced as he slammed his axe into him, taking away almost all of the leader's health as it knocked him crashing onto his back.

W-Wait, please stop!" The leader begged as he moved back, staring in terror as Nadar pulled his sword out and threw it behind him. His terror grew as Nadar approached, clearing his sight to see that his entire guild was gone. "I give up! I'll turn myself in to the Assault Team, to the actual police when we get out! Just don't kill me!"

"How many?" Nadar asked calmly.

"H-Huh?" The leader whimpered in fear as he looked at Nadar, seeing his axe raised with a skill prepared.

"How many pleaded with you before your guild killed them?" He asked again, getting no response from him as he stared to convulse in absolute fear. Above his health bar appeared a warning, signaling that his heartbeat was increasing at a dangerous rate. "For crimes against the players of SAO, for the murders you and your guild has committed, I sentence you to death."

"No, please! I don't want to die!" Those were the last words he was able to say before Nadar slammed his axe down, cutting right down the middle of him with his strongest attack. There was total silence as his health instantly dropped to 0 and he shattered, his execution served without so much as a blink from Nadar.

As he stood back to his full height, Nadar turned to look at Sachi with a seldom expression. He could see the traces of terror in Sachi's eyes, causing a small pinch of guilt in him as he felt that he was the source. He couldn't bring himself to speak as he looked away in shame. The secret was out, and it was revealed in the way he had feared the most.

With another ruthless execution of a criminal.

* * *

"What the hell happened?" Keita asked as he and the rest of the Black Cats stared at Nadar, surrounding him as he was sitting in a chair against the wall. The guild had made it back to the inn a few minutes after Nadar and Sachi returned. And the sight that greeted them was a shaking and scared Sachi and a silent and blank Nadar.

With an orange cursor.

"Depends on who you ask." Nadar said simply, breaking his silence as he looked up to Keita.

"Don't try to dodge the question." Keita responded, showing anger for the first time that everyone could recall. "I want to know what the hell happened. You go off for Sachi, and when you get back you have an orange cursor and Sachi is scared out of her mind."

"What did you do to her?" Ducker questioned with a glare, he and Tetsuo kneeling next to Sachi to try and keep her calm.

"Hey hold on." Kirito stepped in, getting between Ducker and Nadar. "There's no way Nadar would do anything to Sachi, he isn't like that."

"Well he certainly did something." Sasamaru countered as he crossed his arms, glaring at the axe man.

"…I killed someone." Nadar said quietly, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"You did what!?" Keita shouted as he stepped towards Nadar, getting stopped as Hachiman grabbed his wrist. "Hachiman, let me go!"

"Keita hold on, I'm sure this isn't as bad as it sounds." The spearman tried to reason, keeping his grip on the guild leader. "Nadar isn't someone to just kill someone without cause, I'm sure if we give him a little time he'll explain everything and-"

"Oh no, it was without cause." Nadar interrupted, getting Kirito and Hachiman to stare at him in shock. For a second they were going to believe it until they saw his face, the same indifferent expression he had on after the defeat of Illfang. "The punk rubbed me the wrong way and I flat out wiped him out. He was an annoying nobody that thought he was worth something and I showed him that he couldn't hold a candle to me."

"How… how could you?" Keita asked with a shaking voice, a mix of anger and betrayal. "You killed someone for a reason like that? We let you into our guild, our family, and you betray us like that? We trusted you and you go and do something as horrible as murder? How could you do this!?"

"Because I-"

"He was protecting me." The entire guild's gaze all turned to Sachi, who was still shaking but recovered enough to speak. "We were… out leveling when a group of players attacked us. He… he told me to teleport out but I was too stunned to get away."

"What?" The whole room seemed to question at once, staring at Sachi with confusion.

"They came out of nowhere and… and they seemed ready to kill us." Sachi continued, trying to keep herself calm as she recalled the event. "Nadar was being held down when I was grabbed. I think they were going to… to…" As she went deeper and deeper into her thoughts, her ability to speak became more and more distant. She remembered what Nadar said, and how he was recalling how he knew the criminal guild.

"I believed they were going to rape her." Nadar finished for Sachi, causing everyone to gasp and turn back to him as he held his hands together. "They were a criminal guild by the name of Serpent Strikers. They have a reputation of following parties that are out hunting and attacking them when they're distracted. Female players are the usual survivors, but what they went through often lead them to suicide."

"But why is your cursor orange?" Keita questioned, crossing his arms as he kept his glare.

"The ones holding me down had green cursors as well. Likely having waited out their time as criminals as a means to shield themselves." Nadar explained. "They likely figured that no one would attack them. I mean, heh, no one wants to be seen as an orange player right?"

"How could you even make it out of that?" Tetsuo asked. "I've seen Serpent Strikers reputation in the news. That's a guild of players that are all at least level 27. How could you kill one of them and manage to get away?"

"A party of players from the Assault Team was patrolling the dungeon." Sachi stated, getting Nadar to look at her in confusion. "When they had came across us, Nadar had gotten one of the players off of him by hitting them, making him go orange. The party helped take down most of the Serpents, but Nadar was the one that freed me from their leader. He got a lucky attack in and it killed him."

"Is this true Nadar?" Keita asked as he looked to the axe man. "Is that what had happened? You attacked a criminal with a green cursor as an Assault Team party showed up?"

"…Yes." Nadar answered simply as he looked down. "I wouldn't have managed to get close to Sachi if it weren't for the party that came."

"Then why lie?" Hachiman asked. "We would've understood if it was defense. But you sounded like you were doing it purely for the fun of it."

"Because… because it would look bad for the Moonlit Black Cats to have an orange player in their ranks." Nadar said with a half shaking voice. "I figured that it'd be best if you all hated me and kicked me out. That way once you were a high enough level, the Assault Team wouldn't turn you away for my actions."

Do you really think that little of us?" Keita questioned, confusing Nadar and getting him to look at him. The guild leader's fists were tightened, but his face showed pain as tears were coming down from his eyes. He wasn't likely that sad, but because of the NerveGear, it was extremely hard to hide many tears unless you could emotionally cut yourself.

"What?"

"We want to help the Assault Team, but not if it means throwing someone under the bus!" Keita shouted, surprising Nadar. "Back then, you and me never saw eye to eye, even now we have some disagreements over things. But we're family, if you had just told us true from the start we'd never had of gotten mad at you. How could you think keeping what happened a secret be good!?"

"Nadar, you don't have to act like you're some kind of bad guy anymore." Kirito spoke, smiling as he looked at the axe man. "There's no need to fall so that others can rise. We're a guild, we should be all working together in order to get up. We don't have to act like everything's on us."

"I'm… I'm sorry." Nadar whispered, standing up before he started walking. "Keita I… I'm sincerely sorry over not being truthful sooner. I'm still not used to the whole guild thing and still have the urges of how I acted back then." He then lowered his head as he moved past everyone, heading for the stairs as he a hand on his head. "I… I think I need to go lie down. My head's starting to kill me and I just need some sleep."

"Yeah, sure thing." Keita responded as he wiped his eyes. "And Nadar?" Nadar stopped at the top of the stairs, waiting to listen for what last thing Keita had to say. "Thank you for protecting Sachi. I should've known better than to think you'd actually hurt her."

"We all should have." Tetsuo added as the rest of the guild all looked up to him.

"It's… it's fine." Nadar responded simply as he started to walk again, getting out of view before anyone could see that he had started to cry. The tears flow freely, but Nadar didn't even bother to try and wipe them as he went to his room and collapse onto his bed. He wasn't tired, but he just had to get out before anything else happened.

He laid alone in his room with nothing but the sound of his breathing as he waited his tears to stop falling. He remained there for almost an hour until he heard a knock at his door, causing him to rise up and turn to the window. "I'm not in the mood for a talk Hachiman. Can this wait for tomorrow."

"A-Actually, it's me." Nadar's eyes widened as he looked back to the door as it opened, revealing Sachi. She was wearing her normal sleep attire, holding onto a pillow as she stood at the doorway. "I'm sorry, but I'm having trouble sleeping. Do you think I could… sleep with you?"

Nadar remained sitting there in silence for several minutes, trying to process everything before he looked down. "Are you sure you could trust me? After what you saw earlier? Aren't you… scared of me now?"

"I couldn't ever be scared of you." Sachi answered. "I know you'd never do anything to hurt me because… because you're like a big brother to me." That caused Nadar's breathing to stop as he stared in shock at Sachi, his eyes wide as he never expected to be called that. "You said you'd always protect me, that you'd be there for me when I needed you. Just like a big brother would."

"But I… you saw me… I killed… you were…" Nadar tried to speak, finding it impossible as he felt his defenses weaken. Eventually he caved in, sighing as he lowered his head. "Okay Sachi… you can stay in here for the night if you want."

That brought a smile to Sachi's face, the smile remaining as she lied down in bed with Nadar. The two remained a comfortable distance apart, Nadar facing towards his window as Sachi slept peacefully behind him.

As he heard her slow, steady breathing, Nadar looked at his reflection in the window. "Big brother?" He muttered, looking down as the words kept echoing in his mind. "Is that really what a big brother is supposed to do? Is that what I… should I really let her see me like that?"

He then turned over onto his back to look over to Sachi, seeing how peaceful and relaxed she was. It was the first time he saw her so calm, as her fear of dying always kept her on edge. It was… relieving to see that she was as peaceful as she was. She trusted him so much that she could sleep in complete peace, not a single fear keeping her from feeling safe.

And that's what leads Nadar to tighten his fist, looking up to the ceiling in determination. "If that's what you really see me as Sachi, then I'll hold that image up for you. I don't want to see you scared again, so I'll keep you safe. As your big brother I promise you won't even remember what being afraid was like."


	5. A Guild Lost

"I see, so that's why Nadar's been absent from the front lines." Heathcliff said as he sat behind a stone desk, Asuna and Godfrey standing at the sides as bodyguards. Hachiman is currently across the room from the commander, having volunteered to explain the current situation with the guild.

"A criminal guild having green players to keep others from fighting back. That's a rather dirty trick for them to implore." Godfrey commented as he rubbed his bear, looking to Hachiman before speaking up. "And as for the story the girl told your guild, Silchi was it?"

"Sachi." Hachiman corrected. "And yes, I know it sounds rather ridiculous with how she kept the others from knowing the real truth, it kept Nadar's reputation from being exposed to the others. It would be a personal favor if you would include having a party from the Knights of the Blood Oath save them when you announce this information to the public."

"I'm sure we can work that out no problem." Heathcliff stated, nodding once as he kept a calm gaze with Hachiman. "Our reputation will get a boost from saving a few players from criminals and your guild will believe that they don't have the Assault Team's assassin among them. Although I have to ask, with everything cleared up will Nadar be returning to the front lines soon?"

"I seriously doubt it." Hachiman admitted. "The whole thing happened a whole week ago and ever since Nadar hasn't left Sachi's side. I don't think you can expect him back until the Moonlit Black Cats are ready for the front lines themselves."

"Are you serious?" Asuna questioned, annoyance clear in her tone. "We're fighting for our lives here, and he goes trial and he's just going to sit around and wait like a coward?"

"While I don't agree with the way she said it, Asuna's right." Godfrey nodded, crossing his arms. "Nadar's one of the best players we have on the team. His strength and health stats have allowed him to keep up with Heathcliff during the boss battles, giving us more time to push forward and capitalize on the fights. And we're getting close to finding the next boss room. If he doesn't show up, we'll have a harder time taking it out."

"I know, but he's been like a guard dog for Sachi ever since the incident." Hachiman responded, sighing as he rubbed the back of his head. "Me and Kirito have known him for almost the whole time we've been trapped in this game, but Sachi's gotten closer to him than we ever could. Hell, they're actually referring to each other as brother and sister now."

"So we'll be wasting our breath if we try to convince him to return." Heathcliff concluded, closing his eyes as he thought everything over. "For the mean time then, we'll have to just work as we always have. If we have to pull out from the boss however…"

"What sir?' Asuna asked.

Heathcliff then smiled at the question, showing a rare sign of excitement. "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse."

.

.

.

"What, seriously?" He questioned, looking around to the three in the room. "Does nobody get that? I'm seriously the only one who… never mind." He sighed, going back to his usual calm expression. "Well then Hachiman, my thanks for the information. You may return to your guild."

"Understood." Hachiman responded, bowing before walking out of the room.

"But seriously, am I the only one who got what I said?" Heathcliff asked as Hachiman left, sounding slightly insulted at the idea.

* * *

"Guess what guys, our guild's treasury officially has over 200,000 col." Keita announced to the guild, getting excited responses all around.

"Whoa, we've all got that much put in there?"

"That's enough to buy our own house."

"Guess it isn't such a pip dream if we're that close."

"Finally, we won't have to pay rent."

As the guild was bursting with excitement, Nadar smiled as he sat next to Sachi. The week after the incident has been good on his mind, as shown by his calm posture. His head has been clearer than it's been since he entered the game, and he could tell his stress has gone down exponentially.

"I mean, it'd have to be on one of the lower floors." Kirito spoke up. "Anything past floor eight is about 400,000 col. And we haven't even considered the price for furniture."

"I'm cool with any of those floors as long as we aren't on floor 1." Nadar added on, closing his eyes as he laid back down.

"Any reason?" Keita asked, interested in why Nadar wouldn't want to go down.

"The ALF and I don't really see eye to eye." Nadar answered. "In all honesty I'm not a big fan of the army in its entirety. An organization based on "helping the little guy" is practically doomed to fail due to corruption. And with their recent slaughter on floor 25 I'm counting the days until it goes wrong."

"Wow, that's… pretty deep man."

"Also Kibaou is annoying and every time I so much as hear about him I feel ready to punch somebody."

"Ah, there it is."

"Well then, why not go for floor 2?" Hachiman recommended. "The place is great to remain in the quiet. The large fields also give plenty of space to breath and the ALF doesn't go up there ever. The prices are even nearly identical to that of a place in the Town of Beginnings."

"Sounds like a good place." Keita commented. "Anyone have any objections to a place on floor 2?" No one spoke up against the idea, due to all of them being excited to get their own house that just about anywhere felt like a great idea. "Alright then, floor 2 it is then. Since it's early I can head put and get the purchase set."

The whole guild walked out of the inn to see Keita out before he stepped on the teleport platform. "I'll be back by the end of the day, try not to have too much fun while I'm gone okay?" He then disappeared in a flash, leaving the members to talk among themselves.

"Can you believe it? I never thought buying a house would be so exciting." Sasamaru said with excitement, barely containing himself.

"Dude come on, you sound like an old man." Ducker responded, punching the spearman's shoulder.

"Hey, while Keita's off buying the house why don't we go head out and get some extra cash?" Tetsuo recommended, remembering what Hachiman said about the added costs.

"Yeah, and we can go on a higher floor dungeon too." Ducker added on.

Nadar could swear he heard his own heart pound at the idea, his pupils dilating in fear as he thought about the guild going to a more dangerous dungeon. Out of the entire guild, Kirito was the only one to notice, looking concerned at the scared axe man before speaking up to the others. "We should probably stick to our usual hunting spots."

"Yeah, but up there we can make more col and faster too." Sasamaru countered.

"Yeah, and at our levels we have nothing to worry about."

Nadar's heartbeat was slowly picking up as images passed through his head, the thoughts of a second criminal guild or the higher-level mobs getting to the guild. It was getting to him so much that he could swear he was going to throw up. "Hey, it's okay." Hachiman whispered, noticing Nadar's growing anxiety. "Calm down, we'll be right by their side the whole way through. And this time it won't be just you and Sachi, we're all here. There won't be anything to worry about."

As Hachiman put a hand on Nadar's shoulder, the axe man could feel his body slowly start to relax, the shaking in his hands stopping as his heart rate went down. It was only for a few seconds, so his near panic attack went unnoticed by the rest of the guild. But even then, he still had a concerned glance set in his eyes. "Yeah… we'll all be there."

* * *

"See? I told you guys this would be a walk in the park." Ducker said as the guild walked down a corridor. The guild had moved up to floor 27, the one just recently cleared by the Assault Team in hopes of getting better drops.

Hachiman and Sasamaru took the front, acting as forwards while the others followed. While normally the role went to Nadar, he turned the role down to stay by Sachi's side along with Kirito at the back. Returning to the dungeon had clearly set Nadar further on edge, his right hand staying over his shoulder should he need to quickly grab his axe.

"At this rate, we may even make it to the front lines sooner." Sasamaru smirked at the idea, everything seeming to be going the guild's way.

"Hey, look." Ducker said as he saw a grid pattern on one of the countless walls, placing his palm on it to reveal a hidden door. The three veteran players all took a sharp inhale at the sight, having never found a hidden door when they were clearing the entire dungeon out.

"A treasure chest!" The treasure hunter beamed with glee, with him, Sasamaru and Tetsuo all heading into the confined room.

"No don't you idiots!" Nadar shouted as he unsheathed his axe, running right into the room after them.

"Nadar!" Sachi called out after him, moving to follow him along with Kirito and Hachiman.

"Stop!" Nadar screamed as he reached out to Ducker, just grabbing the back of his cloak as he opened the chest. Nadar's eyes widened in horror as an alarm started blaring, the room's lights turning from blue to blood red as the door they entered closed. He quickly pulled Ducker back and prepped his axe as Dark Dwarf Miners and Mineral Elementals started spawning and filling the room.

"This is… this is ridiculous." Hachiman said as he prepped his spear, the rest of the guild pulling out their weapons to defend themselves. "There's never been a trap this bad before."

"Ducker's trap-disabling ability is too low." Kirito called out, blocking an attack from a Mineral Elemental before retaliating. "We have to get out of here, now!"

"Teleport Taft!" Ducker shouted, pulling out a teleport crystal. When he didn't teleport, he stared in shock at the crystal before trying again. "Teleport Taft!"

"We can't use our crystals."

"They're being blocked by the wall!" Nadar shouted as he swiped his axe across, cutting down three Dwarfs as he prepared a skill. "Stay in the group! Nobody get separated and remain back to back!"

"Gah!" Nadar looked back in horror as he saw Ducker get knocked away, quickly getting surrounded by the Dwarfs as they raised their pickaxes.

"No!" Nadar moved to try and save him, but was cut off as a Mineral Elemental got in his way. It was cut away with ease, but bought enough time for the Dwarfs to mercilessly slaughter Ducker.

"Get back!" Hachiman ordered Sasamaru as he moved past him, impaling two Mineral Elemental's in a single jab of his spear. The two quickly vanished, allowing him to prep his spear back, activating a blitz skill to send a flurry of unseen jabs at the Dwarfs, eliminating five before anyone could even blink.

"Ahh!" Tetsuo screamed in pain as he was slashed across his chest, the one hit from an Elemental being strong enough to kill him in a single hit.

"Tetsuo!" Sasamaru shouted in shock, glaring in rage at the Mineral Elemental before running up and impaling it with one of his skills. That rage was soon replaced with fear as he saw the Elemental barely flinch, starring down at him before slamming its arm across his face. He didn't even have time to scream in pain before he was killed as well.

"No, no, no!" Nadar shouted in pure rage as he swung his axe back and forth, taking out several mobs at once while keeping Sachi behind him. While he protected the girl, Kirito and Hachiman were going all across the room, taking down mob after mob as they tried to clear them all out. Hachiman however took a hit from a Mineral Elemental, stunning him and knocking him onto his chest.

As a group of Dwarves began to surround him, they were instantly cut into two as Nadar ran right through them. His eyes were wide with rage, his axe glowing continuously as he kept on hacking through them. "You're not taking another one!" A hit to a back stopped him from making his next attack, but he quickly turned and slammed the flat of his axe into the mob's face, killing it instantly before tripping and stomping a Dwarf's face in.

"Nadar!" The axe man's craze instantly vanished as he heard Sachi's plea, turning to see her barely managing to push a Mineral Elemental away.

"Sachi!" He shouted back, seeing a Mineral Elemental prepare its arm to hit her from behind. In a moment of desperation, he activated his throwing skill and threw his axe with all his might, sending it spiraling across the room. A sickening sound was heard as the Mineral Elemental was struck in its head before a loud crashing sound. Nadar saw in shock as it was Hachiman's spear that hit the Mineral Elemental, while his axe had completely missed and hit the wall across the room.

Not dwelling on the thought, however, Nadar was able to grab Sachi and pull her towards him as more mobs began to surround them. He turned his back to them as they all prepared their attacks, using himself as a shield as they all slashed at him. His health bar was going down at a steady rate, his immeasurable high health quickly getting depleted over the onslaught of attacks.

"Nadar!" Sachi cried out in fear as she saw his health dip into the red, the mobs nearly about to kill them when their attack stopped.

"Now! While their attacks are on cool down!" Nadar ordered out, and in the next instant Kirito and Hachiman lunged right into the horde. Hachiman now had a metal javelin equipped, impaling clean through several Dwarves without so much as having to activate a skill. The two beta testers wasted no time as they slaughtered the remaining monsters, using all of their skills and abilities to wipe out every last one of them.

"It's… over." Nadar breathed out as he kept Sachi close to him. "It's all… over."

As he held her, Sachi began to shake lightly, tears forming in her eyes as she was on the verge of crying. "Nadar… I…" Before she could finish, her eyes widened in shock as she felt a drop of water land on her head before Nadar rested his chin on the same spot.

"Sachi I… I'm so sorry." Nadar said, tears falling down his eyes as he couldn't bring himself to look at the girl. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" He kept on going on, pulling Sachi as close to him as he couldn't control himself.

Sachi felt her tears going down her cheeks as she hugged Nadar back, realizing that that he was shaking uncontrollably. "It's okay Nadar. It's all right. It's… It's… Ahhhhh!" Her control could barely last, and she screamed as she cried, the two holding on to each other as if they were afraid the other would vanish.

Behind them, Hachiman and Kirito were both looking down, in complete shame as the death of their guild members weighed heavy on them. They couldn't bring themselves to even look to the two as they dried their hearts out, each feeling their own responsibility for the pain they were feeling.

* * *

"W-What did you say?" Keita stuttered as he took a step back, a set of keys in his hand. An hour after the death of Ducker, Tetsuo and Sasamaru, the survivors all went back down to Taft. All of them looked like they were completely defeated, all with their heads low.

When Keita had found them later and asked what was wrong, Nadar was the only one able to speak up and give him the horrible news. "I'm sorry Keita, but they're all dead." He repeated, his eyes looking up enough to see Keita. "Ducker, Tetsuo, Sasamaru, all three of them died."

"But… but how!?" Keita shouted, grabbing Nadar's shoulders as he shook him. "How did they all die!? What happened while I was gone!?" Keita's voice was trembling with a mix of sorrow and anger, the latter harder to hear but still present.

"We went up to floor 27 to hunt." Nadar explained, forcing himself to look Keita in his eyes. "Ducker recommended that we go up there in order to get more col at a faster rate. It was going well at first, we had made almost enough to completely furnish a house until…" Nadar flinched as he remembered the alarm, shaking his head to get it out of his head.

"We activated a trap that spawned in dozens of Mineral Elementals and Dark Dwarf Miners. The room was an anti-crystal zone, we weren't able to teleport out of there like floors bellow. It had all happened so fast, Ducker didn't even have time to prepare himself before he was knocked over and killed. It was only a minute before Tetsuo got killed by a Mineral Elemental, and Sasamaru followed seconds after by the same monster."

By now Keita had released Nadar and took several steps back, leaning against the railing to Aincrad's outer surface. "We had almost lost Sachi as well, but luckily I… Hachiman was able to kill the Elemental just before it got her." Nadar corrected himself, reminding himself that he had failed to hit the Elemental with his axe. "We were able to defeat the rest of the mobs and get out, but we still failed."

"Why… why did you all go there?" Keita questioned. "You guys should have known better, you were always warning us about trap and the dangers of mobs. Why would you all just let them go up like that to die?"

"Keita, wait. There's something you-" Sachi started to speak, but was stopped as Kirito placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head.

"Because… because I thought that I could protect everyone." Nadar answered. "Kirito and Hachiman knew this, but when we joined your guild I wasn't at level 20. At that time I was level 40, because I've been on the front lines since day one. I'm a member of the Assault Team, one of the lead players because of my build."

"You're… with the Assault Team?"

"We all are." Kirito spoke up.

"Kirito!"

"I'm not letting you take the fall for everything again!" The swordsman shouted back, catching Nadar off guard. "Keita, we're all to blame for what happened to everyone. Hachiman and I are beta testers, and I recognized the trap as something from the beta on floor 7. We knew how dangerous the trap was, but because you all thought we were your level they didn't listen."

"In all honesty, this all is my fault over everything else." Hachiman added, speaking up for the first time. "I was the one who kept trying to show Nadar that opening up was alright, and I figured this guild was the perfect opportunity. We should have been honest with you from the start, maybe then things… things would have been different."

"You all lied to us?" Keita asked, his eyes wide in shock as it slowly turned to anger. "You had our trust, we thought of you as friends, as family! And you used us like that!?" The guild leader turned his attention to Nadar, his anger taking over as Nadar stared back. "How much did you even care about us!? All that talk about trying to change and apologize, how you regretted acting how you were was all a bunch of BS wasn't it!? Just a bunch of lies to let us accept you more and allow you to manipulate us like sheep!"

"Keita, that isn't true!" Sachi spoke up, stepping up to speak. "Nadar does care about us, everything he's done has been in an effort to keep us safe. He lied about his level, but that doesn't change who he is. He saved us and was making an effort to be a better person, how could you say he was using us?"

"How can you take his side!?" Keita shouted at Sachi, scaring her into stepping back. "He lied to all of us! We weren't even good enough for him and the others to admit who they actually were until someone died! We aren't important to them!"

Nadar then stepped between Sachi and Keita, a sending a dark glare at Keita that scared the player. "Don't you dare yell at Sachi. Not after everything she's been through already. You're acting like all we've done is twist your views and turn you against everyone you knew. All we did was try to help you, because they felt like you'd be able to make a difference!" He shouted, pointing back to Kirito and Hachiman. "They thought of the Black Cats as the future of the Assault Team, changing the elitist attitude some of the current guilds have there."

"And how could I possibly be someone only looking out for myself when I did more for Sachi in the few months I've known her than you have since this game started! You've pushed her to try and fight how she never has, not once taking into account how downright terrified she was! She wasn't as strong as all of you, she needed more time to get stronger and learn why you don't have to be afraid! I did that, me! I am fucked up in the head, the only reason I was able to help her was because I saw that no one else would!"

"You want to be mad at someone, be mad at me. But don't distance yourself from the fate of your friends." Nadar continued as he stared Keita straight in the eyes, standing just a foot away from him. "As you all kept getting stronger, you kept leading them through more dangerous labyrinths and dungeons. Because the three of us joined, you felt like the guild was unstoppable. Your ambition lead to this guild's downfall, because you felt that because of our progress we'd make it up in no time. Trusting only just level can only get you so far Keita, and look where it got your friends."

"What could you possibly understand?" Keita responded, gripping the railing tighter as his body began to shake. "We only wanted to help people and get everyone out of this game, we didn't deserve to die. How could you understand anything about what we lost!?"

"Because I lost everything the first day I entered this game." Nadar responded, his glare turning to a stare of indifference. But even with the rage gone, the return of Nadar's neutral stare seemed to have an even bigger impact on Keita as he started to sweat. "The one thing that made my real life worth something was gone before I even knew it. I've only lived this long because I've vowed revenge on the man that caused me to become what I am now."

"You… you don't have anything to live for…" Keita sweated, his eyes wide in horror at the loss in Nadar's eyes. "I'll… I'll end up like you if I stay here. If I just keep going on like you did… there'll be nothing left when…" Keita then gulped as he looked behind him, into the never-ending sky that Aincrad hovered over.

The whole guild stared in shock as he climbed the rail and jumped, getting caught by his wrist by Nadar at the last second. "What the hell are you doing!? Keita, I get that you just lost most of your friends but Sachi's still alive! You can't do this when you still have to-"

"Just let me go!" Keita shouted, pleading to Nadar as tears fell down his face. "Please Nadar… I don't want to end up like you. I don't want to become someone who only draws pain around him. I don't want to be someone whose living for nothing like some kind of wraith!"

Nadar stared at Keita for several seconds, his grip staying tight as he kept Keita from ending his life. "Keita… there's more to live for other than revenge. You don't have to be me, I don't want you to be me. You're living to protect your friends, you still have one left. Someone who needs you more than I think you understand."

"No… she doesn't. She has Hachiman, Kirito and you." Keita said, his voice calming down as he looked into Nadar's eyes. "Nadar please… I just want to stay who I am when I die. I don't want to become someone I'm not to keep on living."

The player recognized the stare in Keita's eyes, the attempt at detachment just after loss. The same eyes he had after Kayaba disappeared and left them all on their own. It's been months and he never saw it himself, but he knew exactly what would happen to Keita next. Nadar's stare remained unchanged, but it was clear in his eyes what he was going to say. "I understand." And with a cold face, Nadar released Keita's wrist, allowing him to fall off of the castle and disappear into shards.

"I'm sorry I brought this on you." He said quietly, closing his eyes as he heard Sachi begin to break down crying behind him. His whole body shook as he gripped the railings, his anger slowly taking over before he suddenly mellowed out. Like his switch was flipped again, Nadar buried what he had begun to form and left it, knowing that it would be pointless to keep. "I'm going."

"Nadar… I-"

"Just, don't." Nadar interrupted Hachiman, not looking to the spearman as he turned to see Sachi holding on to Kirito, crying once more as the last of her old friends die. "It's not your fault everything went wrong. It's mine for thinking that I could be a part of something like a guild."

"Nadar?" Kirito spoke up, seeing the axe man start to walk past him and Sachi.

"Keep an eye on her Kirito." He responded, holding down the urge to turn around as he walked. "She's been through enough as it is. She didn't deserve this kind of suffering and someone needs to be with her. I have no idea if she'll end up trying to kill herself over this."

"What about you? What are you doing?"

"Getting as far away from all of you as possible." He said as he stopped. "One thing that Keita said is true, I doomed the Black Cats when I joined. If you two had joined them on your own, things would probably have been different." He then opened his menu, preparing to abandon the guild. "I'm not meant to have a good life in here, and I doubt that me staying would make anything better. The best thing I can do for all of you is stay as far away from all of you as poss-" Before Nadar could finish, he was caught by surprised as he was turned and punched square in the jaw. It wasn't that the punch did anything, his poise was too high to even get moved from it.

What stunned him into silence was that the punch came from Sachi, who kept her fist where it was as she looked down crying. "You're an idiot!"

"S-Sachi?"

"How could you say all of this is your fault!?" She shouted as she punched him again, this time hitting his shoulder. "For as long as I've known you you're always trying to help people! You never wanted to hurt anyone! You never wanted anyone to suffer!" As she continued to break down, she lost sense of where she was hitting, just hitting wherever she threw her fist.

"I wasn't strong enough to protect everyone. Your friends." Nadar said, just letting her punch him as he spoke. "It's my fault that they're gone, that your suffering right now."

"If you leave it'll be worse!" Upon the last of her words, a punch to Nadar's face is what stopped the sloppy strikes. Her tear covered face looked up to Nadar with a mix of plea and sorrow, her eyes red from the crying. "I don't want you… you to leave me. You're my brother and I'll be lost without you! You promised me that you'd always be there for me! You can't do that if you run away and leave us!"

"You'll… just get hurt with me around."

"Then I'll get stronger!" She screamed, hugging Nadar and keeping him from trying to get away. "I'll get so strong that you won't ever have to worry about protecting me again! I'll become the strongest that I can reach so that we can protect each other! Please, I don't want you to leave!"

"Sachi I… I…" visibly, Nadar's restraint broke, his will relenting as he hugged her back gently. "I'm not going anywhere. I made a promise and… and I'll keep it."

"You… better."

"And neither are we." Kirito added, walking up to the two and smiling. "We'll all stick together through this game. We'll all make it out of this together. Isn't that right… Hachiman?" The swordsman slowed down as he turned to the spearman, who was in the midst of pressing a button. As he released it, his logo above his health bar vanished and all of them got a notification.

 **Hachiman has left the Moonlit Black Cats**

"I'm sorry Kirito, but I can't stay." Hachiman said, walking away without looking back. "I made a mistake, one that I have to make up for. And I can't promise to live through all of this if I plan on making up for it."

"Hachiman wait!"

"Let him go Kirito." Nadar said, getting the swordsman's attention as he watched the spearman leave. "We can't do anything to change how he's thinking. All we can do is hope he doesn't get himself killed."

"But…"

"Besides, he can handle himself just fine." Nadar said as he looked down to Sachi, who passed out after her outburst. "There's someone else who needs our attention more right now. Hachiman needs to figure things out on his own, even if that means we'll never see him again."

"…Right." Kirito responded, looking down in disappointment as Nadar moved Sachi around and rested her comfortably on his back while taking his axe off him.

"He'll always be a Moonlit Black Cat." Nadar commented as he looked at his axe's jewel, seeing his reflection in the red for a second before he threw the axe off of the edge. "Even as a stray, he'll always be one of us."

"Why'd you-"

"There's no need for it." Nadar answered, the two walking away from the courtyard for the teleport platform. "It failed me when I needed it to protect everyone. I'll find a better axe that I can use to keep you two from dying."

"Don't go putting everything on your shoulders." Kirito said, seeing the progress that his friend made to become a better person shatter. "We'll all fight together. We won't ever abandon each other."

"…Yeah, of course." Nadar smiled back, feeling Sachi's breathing calm as she held onto his back.


	6. The Executioner's Trial

"On the right." Kirito announced as he cut an Unearthed Golem in half, ending it with a single attack. As he finished his attack, he quickly ducked as a silver axe cut over him, taking two of the Golems' heads with it.

"Kirito, Switch!" Nadar ordered as he moved past Kirito, blocking three of the Golem's swords with just the handle of his axe. His new battle-axe was easily larger than his previous, even larger than the player himself. But even then, he held it and swung like it was nothing even worth considering. He had also taken off all of his armor, replacing his upper gear with a white shirt and hood, along with a red scarf that covered his lower face.

Now with three Golems on him, Nadar was left constantly blocking. But even then, he wasn't even fazed as he kept each of them at bay, moving with the blows like a torrent of water. As he ducked under the middle monster's sword, a dark blue blade just went over him to impale the mob.

"Switch!" Sachi called out, having Nadar spin around her as she pulled the sword out of the Golem and parried the two free monsters without breaking a sweat. The once scared and fragile girl was now beaming with confidence as she jumped over the monsters, landing on the right Golem's shoulders without effort. After the loss of her guild, she had quickly built up her will to fight and completely turned over, taking little over two months to catch up to both the swordsman and axe man in her guild.

She had since completely changed her equipment around, setting herself up for her new stats. She had on a dark blue coat on, similar to Kirito's but with a white moon on her shoulder. Underneath she wore a white shirt and silver chest guard, her outfit finished with a blue skirt, shorts and boots. She had little more armor on, but proved that even with the lower protection it would matter little.

Seeing the two Golems focus on her, she quickly flipped over the one she was on and allowed it to take the damage, impaling through it and stabbing the middle one with the end of her sword. The monsters then shattered as they died and she quickly rolled to her right as the last mob slammed its sword down, missing her by a mile as she slashed across it's leg.

As it turned to attack her, she was already to its side, preparing a sword skill before it could even react. As her sword glowed green, she sent it forward in a wide arc, and following it over a dozen more arcs formed and struck across the Golem's body. By the time her attack had finished, the Golem barely had enough health to even be considered a threat, and was taken down as she swung up and cut the head clean off.

"Good job Sis." Nadar said as he sheathed his axe, smirking as the swordswoman began to sheathe her sword on her waist. "Looks like you've managed to increase your time by a couple fractions of a second. Did you put all of your points from leveling up into your agility again?"

"Well, someone has to act as a balance for your ridiculous strength." Sachi responded, smiling as she turned to him. "You've got so many points into it that you make Kirito look like he carries a twig around."

"That was a little rude Sachi." Kirito said, putting his sword away as he scratched his head. "I mean, my sword is one of the heaviest in the entire Assault Team's. I think only the commander has a heavier blade than mine."

"Not mentioning his higher stats and defense." Nadar added, crossing his arms behind his head as he sighed. "The guy has a pretty balanced set, but he really knows how to put things into his favor. He already has about the same health as me, but with that tower shield and armor I'm pretty sure his poise could breeze off any attack I throw at him."

"He does shrug off boss attacks like they're nothing, so that shouldn't come as a surprise." Sachi said. "Other than brother, I haven't seen anyone take on a boss' moves without flinching."

"Yeah, but the guy is probably stressed as hell." Nadar commented, all of them sitting down against a wall as the planned on taking a break. Nadar had to set his axe aside to properly sit, but was the most at ease in the dungeon as he leaned against the wall. "I mean, we may be getting better, but all of these idiots on the Assault Team is starting to get on my nerves. And the mercenaries we've been getting are no better since they can't even figure out how to switch."

"Come on man, give everyone some credit." Kirito sighed as Sachi opened her menu. "The whole group isn't nearly as bad as you say they are. I mean, we wouldn't have made it past Henrock if it wasn't for those tanks we picked up."

"Am I the only one who questions why floor 45 had a chicken made out of rock as a boss?" Nadar asked, recalling the odd boss. "I mean, there was no sort of evidence for that coming up. We were in a jungle for fucks sake, why was there a giant rock chicken instead of like a snake or something?"

"You're still complaining about that?" Sachi questioned, a basket forming in her hands as she dismissed her menu. "Bro, it's been a week since we beat Henrock. How have you not gotten over that?"

"Because it's stupid!" Nadar half whined, sliding down the wall to lie down. "I swear, that whole damn floor was one big bugged system. And have you seen what the teleport crystals have been doing since we beat floor 40? They're glitching out and sometimes you spawn on the completely wrong floor! This damn server is starting to have trouble keeping up with all of the floors and data being put into it."

"Bro, just eat your sandwich." Sachi said as she handed him said item. "You go on your rants when you haven't had enough to eat in the morning."

"I'll eat it, but it won't stop the ranting." Nadar mumbled as he took a bit of his sandwich, pouting as his guildmates watched with knowing looks. "Thank you for the food."

"And like that, the beast has been tamed." Kirito chuckled as Sachi handed him his own sandwich.

"Here you go Kirito, I hope you like it." Sachi smiled as the swordsman accepted the sandwich, getting a grown from Nadar as he took a chunk out of his food.

"Thank you." Kirito unequipped his gloves before taking the item, showing some decency for Sachi's cooking unlike Nadar. The swordsman then took a bite of the sandwich, freezing for a second as he took in the flavor. "Holy crap Sachi, this is even better than yesterday's! Did you increase your cooking skill?"

"It actually leveled up after I finished making Bro's sandwich." Sachi said, smiling as Kirito praised her food. "I also got some really good ingredients from Agil that I've been waiting to try out. Does it really taste that good to you?"

"Are you kidding? It tastes amazing!" Kirito responded with excitement, turning to the swordswoman. "How did you get it to taste so spicy? I didn't even know there was that kind of flavoring in this game!"

"Well, it wasn't so hard." She giggled, taking a bite out of her own sandwich and swallowing before continuing. "Some ingredients put together can actually make spices and flavorings that we would taste back in the real world. I can experiment some more if you want, I bet I could even make something like soy sauce if I work long enough."

"You could make soy sauce!?"

"And like that, I'm turned into the third wheel again." Nadar pouted as he ate his sandwich in silence. "How the hell did I lose being Sachi's favorite to someone like Kirito? The two literally only have their skills in swords in common. Where did all this lovey-dovey bull come from?" The axe man would continue to eat in silence while the two talked, laughing as they enjoyed their meal together.

Just before they finished though, Nadar paused mid bite as he saw several figures approaching. He was able to recognize them from their current distance, the painful mix of flashy white and red on their gear impossible to miss. "We got Blood Oath, looks like Heathcliff and Asuna at the front."

The two sword users stopped their chat as they turned to face the approaching party, all putting down their food to stand up. As Nadar said, Heathcliff and Asuna were both at the front, with Godfrey and two of Heathcliff's paladins following. Aside from the five Blood Oath knights, one other player was approaching them. He had on a black shirt, a green cloak over his head and black pants. But the lance on his back made it clear who was under the hood.

"Oh goody, our lord and savior has taken a minute to grace us with his presence." Nadar said as the party reached them, half of them appearing annoyed while the other half let it go over them. "And he brought his entourage with him, man are we special."

"Could you save the sarcasm for after we leave?" Asuna asked, already annoyed at Nadar.

"But where's the fun in that?" He questioned back. "I mean we have the amazing Lightning Flash of the Knight of the Blood Oath before us. You're so quick that all of these should just miss like nothing was even there." Also I really don't like any of you and you're the only one that argues back."

"I swear, if I was a killer like you I'd-"

"Stand down, Asuna." Heathcliff ordered, holding his hand out to stop Asuna from reaching for her rapier. "He may not be the purest of fighters, but we are all allies here. And as a member of one of the front line guilds, you'll treat him with as much respect as any other."

"…Yes, commander." Asuna relented, moving her hand away from her blade's hilt.

"Oh yes, glorious Second-in-Command, listen to daddy." Nadar smirked, seeing her left eye twitch. "He knows all the right things to get you to listen, doesn't he?" Sachi then nudged his elbow, getting him to relent and cross his arms. "Alright, what did you all come out here for?"

A serious air took over as his question went over, the commander taking two steps forward and standing his shield on the ground. "There's been word on the lower floors of a serious threat coming up. A threat that we knew we had to get to you as soon as possible."

"About a week ago, two days after New Years Eve, we had received word of dozens of criminal players raiding and attacking players. They didn't ask for items, they didn't wait for players to lower their guard, they just attacked and would attempt to slaughter everyone in their path." Asuna informed, crossing her arms as she looked at Nadar. "When we got this information, we had attempted to find you right away, but you weren't at your house with Kirito or Sachi."

"I was busy." Nadar answered quickly, looking away as he did.

"Nadar said he needed the week to get things off of his mind." Kirito explained, getting the stares off of his friend. "He leaves for times like that usually, just a few days to recollect himself or do your headhunt missions."

"Well, if that's the case we have a few for you." Heathcliff said, getting the Moonlit Black Cats attention. "Those criminals we mentioned? They allowed one single survivor, giving them a message after nearly dropping them into the red." Heathcliff then narrowed his eyes in dramatic flare, his gaze focusing solely on Nadar. "The message was targeted specifically for you, Nadar."

"I'm guessing a call out?"

""We know who you are, infamous Executioner. You are nothing but a farce, a mere pretender who thinks he understands what true power is. You have no grip in the power in what you do, only those who surround themselves with the death of weaklings can taste what true power is. You ran from your chance at strength, and we rose from your weakness. We are Laughing Coffin." That was the message." Godfrey explained, looking to Nadar with a cold stare. "What do you know about them?"

"Other than they have the dumbest name for a guild of murders?" Nadar asked, chuckling as he let the threat breeze over him. "Not a clue. I mean, how am I even supposed to know who they are if all they said was their guild name? I'm not much of a people person, never was. I didn't familiarize myself with people I talked to for twenty minutes so forgive me if I can't remember something as stupid as Laughing Coffin."

"I see, so you have nothing to add to this?" Heathcliff questioned once more, getting an affirmative no from Nadar. "Understood, then we have no further incline to remain here. " He then turned to leave, stopping as he spoke up. "But Nadar, all I can say is this: Be afraid. Be very afraid."

.

.

.

"Oh come on!" He shouted as most of the party started to leave. "How could you not get tha-you know what… never mind."

"So what now?" Asuna asked, looking at Nadar as he picked his axe up. "You planning on looking for Laughing Coffin? Or are you just going to wait until they become a bigger problem?"

"What's to look for?" He asked back. "They called me out, they're going to come to me. Most likely when I'm alone and expect them. They want to give me the message that I don't know true strength. So I'll show them exactly what I think of that."

"And that is?"

"Shove my axe right up each and every one of their asses to kill them." He answered, smirking darkly as he regarded the vice commander. "Now why don't you move along and follow sugar daddy Heathcliff back to your love dungeon on floor 38? I'm sure you have plenty of "politics" to go ov-" Nadar was interrupted as the lance user grabbed him, getting the remaining groups attention.

"Nadar, I know exactly what you're planning. And I'm going to tell you right now that it is the worst idea you could think of." Hachiman warned, his face appearing as he pulled his hood down. "These murders, Laughing Coffin, they're unlike anything we've encountered before. They're crazy, they just killed and killed and killed on New Years Eve. They already have a hundred kills on their record. Don't underestimate them."

"I don't recall asking for your side in this." Nadar responded coldly as he shook Hachiman's hand off. "I'm not a little kid you hold his hand for. Not like you were ever there when it was important anyways. Something bad happens and you just run away."

"Nadar!" Sachi scolded the axe man, preparing to continue until he started walking away. "Where are you going!?"

"To floor 1." Nadar answered, pulling out a teleport crystal as he did. "I'm going to buy some more supplies, so I'll be back in an hour… two if the teleport glitch happens."

"Hold up man, maybe we should rethink this." Kirito spoke. "Maybe Sachi or I should go with you in case Laughing Coffin-"

"They're a bunch of wimps who overwhelming their targets to kill." Nadar interrupted. "I'll be just fine. Teleport Town of Beginnings." He then vanished with a flash, leaving the four to themselves.

"He's going to get himself killed one of these days." Asuna commented, letting an irritated sigh out as she shook her head.

"I heard a faint trace of concern there." Hachiman responded, looking to her as he did.

"I hate his guts, but he's one of the best players we have." She explained, looking to the lancer. "If he gets killed, we suffer a blow to the Assault Team's strength that can't be replaced with ten players. I hate to admit it but we need him, especially with the floor 50 boss coming up."

"Right, the commander's theory on bosses." Sachi said. "That after every 25 floors, a boss gets an incredibly powerful buff, and one of those factors stay with every boss after."

"When the Two-headed Giant wiped out the ALS, it took us almost a month to recover the loss." Hachiman stated. "And after it, bosses began to let their combos slowly go in favor of powerful single attacks. A strength based skill move that could devastate a tank if they weren't paying attention. If the floor 50 boss has some kind of massive buff on a level similar to that, we may have trouble walking out with half the Assault Team alive."

"And Nadar's putting himself in trouble right now to draw out Laughing Coffin." Kirito added, opening his menu and checking his friends list. "Nadar's on the move towards the Town of Beginnings from the dungeon, which means his teleport crystal glitched and he spent a couple seconds screaming into the sky. We can't risk getting a glitch so we'll have to use the teleport platform back in town."

"We won't get there by the time Nadar reaches the Town of Beginnings." Hachiman responded. "Granted we're all pretty fast, but we'd need to have an agility stat of at least 70. I don't think any of us have that much speed under our belt at our current levels."

"Well… actually…" Asuna responded, getting everyone's full attention. "I might have an idea."

* * *

"An empty field with little imagination gone to everywhere except for the sky." Nadar commented as he stood on a single hill outside of the town he first spawned in. "Never thought I'd actually exit the town to this field, but I guess things have to change in order to kill some bastards."

Looking around, he took note of the area around him to look for any hiding places that could be used. He couldn't find any, but he knew this wasn't the place it'd start. So he started to walk, following a path through the fields of mob spawns. Effort wasn't even an issue as he one shot each boar that he came across.

Eventually he came across what he was looking for, a flatlands with hills and trees surrounding the outskirts. At the center was a single man, wearing a ripped and tattered cloak that completely covered him. "You're a very poetic piece of shit, aren't you?"

The man chuckled a bit as he turned to Nadar, revealing PoH's smirk. "And you're a rather suicidal moron. Coming alone to the place where it all started."

The axe man shrugged in response, rolling his eyes as he stopped two meters away from PoH. "So you finally showed your face and became a full fledged murderer then? I'll be honest, I was expecting XaXa or Black to be the big bad leader with how the rumors talk about brutality. But I guess it makes sense you'd be at the top, Laughing Coffin would've been dead the day after if they were."

"Oh, I doubt that." PoH responded. "After all, we aren't one of those rookies that gather a group of ten and start going on a power ride. This guild of mine has grown quite a bit over the course of a year, unlike yours that had lost more than half it's members."

"And like that I went from angry to pissed." Nadar stated, pulling his battle-axe out and staring down the assassin. "You should know better than to piss off someone who gained the title of Aincrad's Executioner."

"Anger sets a target off, making them more emotional makes them sloppy." PoH commented. "But then again, your work practically revolves around you being angry. Rather ironic, given how much of a coward you are in the real world."

"Maybe, but we aren't in the real world right now, are we?" As he finished speaking, Nadar turned and slashed his axe to the side, knocking a knife that was thrown away before it impaled into the ground.

"Oh ho! Nadar buddy you managed to predict my move!" Johnny Black cheered, clapping while keeping a similar knife in his hand. "Man, and people just say you're nothing but a brute. Color me impressed."

"Black… your voice is as obnoxious as ever."

"It's Johnny Black! Johnny! BLACK! Not just Black!"

"Guess the element of surprise is out of the way." XaXa said as he walked out from behind a tree, a skull mask covering most of his face while causing his eyes to glow red. "Nadar."

"XaXa." Nadar nodded back, keeping the exchange short. "So I guess you really are poetic bastards. The first killer of SAO, fighting against the three lead killers on the first floor where it started. Talk about cheesy guys."

"I will admit, that was my original plan." PoH stated, shrugging as he pulled out his cleaver. "But after doing a lot of digging, I've seen just what kind of reputation you have. And as much as I hate to admit it, fighting the Assault Team's most dangerous tank with just the three of us would be suicide." Nadar was then caught off guard as another knife was thrown, this one hitting his shoulder. "So I decided to listen to Johnny on the right plan to deal with you upon show time."

"All out assault!" Johnny Black screamed, acting as a signal that lead to over two dozen players jumping out and surround Nadar. All of them were wearing similar outfits to the three leaders, all with unique touches on them that made them separate from the others. But one thing they all had in common was their status, all were orange from committing crimes on a constant basis.

"Forty players? Making a team to rival the Assault Team huh?" Nadar asked, keeping his eyes on all of the assassins. "You all have rather low tier gear though. Not to mention your armor ratings are probably non-existent with those robes and cloaks on. Do you really think you can take me like this?"

"I wouldn't underestimate us." One of the assassins said, lunging at Nadar from behind. "You'll end up headless if you d-" Before he could finish, Nadar had turned and cleaved him in two, destroying his health and shattering him.

"Low tier punk." Nadar commented before turning, holding his axe horizontally to block downward slashes from two more of the assassins. As he remained open, a third on came from behind and slashed across his back, taking some health off before they all jumped back. "What?"

"You can only focus on so many of us!" Turning, Nadar parried an attack from an approaching assassin, cutting across his chest before taking two blows from behind. He attempted to strike the assassins behind him, but was too slow as they jumped back to the group. As he recovered from his swing, Nadar kicked out behind him with his right leg, stunning one of the assassins before blocking one attacking from his right. A third one got a lucky slash in on his left, but was unable to escape as Nadar twisted his body and slammed the assassin he blocked into him.

He then quickly slammed his axe down on the two, cutting right through them and killing them as he was attacked again. He turned to attack, but was stopped as the attacker got three more quick blows on him. Nadar was surprised as he saw XaXa, wielding an Estoc, back up while delivering one last blow. The attacks he sent were faster than most of what he had seen, which meant getting XaXa would be impossible unless he off balanced him.

Not letting it distract him, Nadar held his axe behind his shoulders to block three assassins from stabbing him, holding strong as his health was taking noticeable loss. _'Damn it, their speed and strength are better than I thought they'd be.'_ He thought as he swung his axe, throwing the three off of him before blocking a dagger with his hand.

As he threw his arm to the side to get the dagger out, he jumped to the side to avoid an assassin's sword, landing and taking an axe to his back. He stared in shock as he lost a chunk of health from the attack, remembering just how deadly a back hit with an axe could be. But the shock quickly turned to rage, as he turned and slammed the side of his axe into the assassin's face, knocking his head clean off.

He then pulled the axe out and used his throwing skill, aiming at XaXa and missing, though the axe did hit an assassin behind the masked player. _'Damn it, that was my opening!'_ Using his anger, he began to swing left and right into the assassin's attack teams, managing to land blows on a few before getting hit by the survivors. The amount of planning and effort was impressive, almost like that of the Assault Team when they take on a boss. Although the assassin's were much more crude, letting some die to get a good blow in on the axe man.

The fight had gone on for nearly twenty minutes, and by then Nadar was panting in exhaustion, using his axe to keep himself up when he wasn't attacking. "He's surviving rather well." PoH commented, standing next to XaXa and Johnny Black as they watched the executioner fight. "He's already killed 10 of our guild, yet we've only managed to get him into the yellow. He truly is a fun target."

"As much fun as it is, we should stop him now before any more of us die." XaXa spoke. "We'll have a hard time bulking our numbers back up if we let this continue on. He may be getting more and more tired, but he's getting more dangerous as we let it go on."

"Very well then. XaXa, Johnny Black, go take care of our old friend."

"With pleasure boss man!" Johnny Black cheered as he and XaXa ran forward, getting Nadar's attention as he swatted two assassins away. As Nadar swung at the two, Johnny slid under it while XaXa dodged to the side, the Estoc user landing three blows on Nadar before the knife user attempted to get a cut in. Nadar knocked him away with his axe however, getting a sputter of slurs from the assassin before he got up.

Nadar then blocked behind him, stunning XaXa as his poise managed to stop his combo from going on. But even then, XaXa was more than quick enough to roll out of the way from Nadar's follow up attack, cutting across his stomach as he got back up. The two then began to exchange with blows, XaXa being sure to avoid any of Nadar's attacks while the other swung wildly, his eyes wide with anger as he attempted to land a blow.

But the more he threw, the more XaXa learned his reaction timing. It wasn't long before he was got the perfect timing down and parried Nadar, knocking his axe away and leaving him open. "You're finished." XaXa said as he began to land a flurry of blows on Nadar, who crossed his arms in a mock defense to alleviate some of the attacks.

During his attack, Nadar began to smirk, his teeth showing as he glared up to XaXa. "So that's how you work then?" Without a second's thought, Nadar used his hand to catch the blade, stopping it just from hitting his face as he wrapped his fingers around the cross guard. XaXa had no time to pull back as Nadar ripped the sword out of his grasp and threw a punch forward, hitting him right in the jaw and knocking him down to the ground.

"So much speed, you forgot to put strength into the combos." Nadar explained, throwing the Estoc away. "You knew my greatest weakness and forgot to capitalize on my lesser ones." He then quickly kicked his axe up, catching it and holding it over his head. "Game over!" The sound of a knife passing through flesh was then heard, stopping Nadar from attacking.

The axe man turned to his shoulder, seeing one of Johnny Black's daggers sticking out from it before he collapsed. The dagger did next to no damage, but it had a paralysis poison effect on it, keeping him from being able to move. "Bull's-eye!" The assassin laughed, jumping over and kneeling in front of Nadar. "Bet you didn't see that coming, did ya?"

"Honestly, I'm more disappointed it took so long." Nadar responded, grinding his teeth together as he stared the assassin down. "You're rather slow for being a dangerous assassin, aren't you?"

"I'm an "In the now" guy, so I just do what I want." Johnny Black said, twisting a spare knife in his hands. "And since you were gonna do in an old buddy, I thought getting the fight out of you would be for the best."

"In other words, ya'll fucked up and thought going Battle Royal on me would work." Nadar figured, trying to push himself up despite the impossibility of the action.

"Okay, okay we may have fucked up there. But who cares!?" The assassin shouted as he drove his second knife into Nadar's back, taking a good piece of health off. "We got the oh so dangerous Executioner of Aincrad, on the ground and getting ready for the slaughter."

"Doesn't help that you're a bunch of cowards who couldn't beat one guy in direct combat."

"A fair assessment, but inaccurate non the less." PoH stated as he walked up to the downed Nadar, his glove exposed to show the guild's emblem. "There is a difference between a coward and a tactician. Our strategy for using larger numbers is no different then the Assault Team's plan on fighting bosses. We aren't cowards, just smart enough to know how to beat our target."

"Doesn't change the fact that a few players had put so much effort to defeat another." The axe man chuckled, grinning wide as he stared up to PoH in defiance. "So what now? Gonna kill me? Get rid of the biggest threat to your guild so that you remain safe? Cause we all know the Assault Team won't spare any resources to take you out when I'm gone."

"Straight to the point then? I respect you for being that much, Nadar." PoH said as he raised his cleaver up, preparing a power skill to the player's back. "You've had a good run, but now…" The man then smirked as he looked down to Nadar, a murderous gleam in his eyes as he started to bring his blade down. "It's show time!"

As the blade went down, several assassin's were all knocked away by a surprise force from behind, shortly followed by a white blur moving past the opening created. Just before the blade hit, a rapier suddenly knocked it out of PoH's hand before striking his chest, sending him several feet back by the force.

"What the?" Nadar muttered as he saw Asuna standing at the ready, her rapier held in front of her as she stared PoH down.

"Laughing Coffin, stand down now." Asuna ordered, keeping her focus on the leader but leaving no opening for the other assassins. "If you don't, I can not guarantee that you'll make it out of here alive."

"Really?" Johnny Black asked, raising an eyebrow as his shoulders slouched. "Just one of the Assault Team came down to try and stop us? Come on lady, did you really think this would be a good idea?"

"She isn't alone!" Johnny Black was then knocked to the side as Hachiman pounced forward, slamming the side of his spear into his gut. XaXa then jumped back, avoiding a dual attack from both Kirito and Sachi, both of whom were glaring at the assassin in anger.

"Four assault members huh?" Johnny Black groaned, getting up as he pulled a knife out. "Wasn't expecting that, but what does it matter?"

"Man you're bad at math." Nadar responded, confusing the assassin. "I count at least fourteen here."

"Wait wha-" Before he could finish, Johnny Black was once again knocked to the side by a powerful attack that sent his health into the yellow. The attacker was none other than Klein, leader of the Fuurinkazan guild and member of the Assault Team.

"Sorry we took a second later to get here." Klein said as he and his guild filled in, everyone standing back to back as Sachi pulled the daggers out of Nadar. "You guys need to remember that we aren't as fast as all of you."

"Sorry Klein." Kirito apologized, glaring at XaXa as he held his sword at the ready. "But we were in too big of a hurry to wait around. You did good at keeping up though."

"Hey, couldn't leave my little red buddy all on his own could I?" Klein responded, looking back to Nadar who visibly gagged at his words.

"Cure." Sachi said as she held an antidote crystal to Nadar, alleviating his paralysis before using a healing crystal on him.

"Thanks Sis." Nadar thanked as he grabbed his axe and stood up, standing with the rest of the group as they stood ready. "I really needed that after giving them a good thrashing."

"Says the one who was paralyzed and on the verge of getting killed." Asuna countered, getting a wince from the axe man.

"I had them totally where I wanted them." He said back. "But since you're all already here, I guess letting you tag in to help isn't too bad of an idea."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that man." Klein chuckled, pointing his katana to Johnny Black as he glared. "Alright then buddy, want to try and take on someone who's ready for you?"

"Ummmm, no." He responded, confusing the group as he jumped back with a teleport crystal. "Peace bitches!" He then teleported away, being followed by most of the guild, save for PoH who remained to speak.

"A rather lucky break for you Nadar." He stated, getting a glare from the player as he pulled out a crystal. "We don't have high enough stats to fight against a portion of the Assault Team, so we'll have to call it for the day. Be sure to give a moment of silence here, I think that's the least you can give her." He then vanished, disappearing just before Hachiman threw his lance at him.

"Damn it."

"Who the hell was that?" Klein asked as he sheathed his katana. "That weird way he talks of familiarity without even knowing us, talk about a creep."

"Yeah, no kidding." Sachi responded, taking a sigh of relief as she saw Nadar sheathe his axe. "But we at least made it in time to save Bro."

"I hope this taught you something." Asuna spoke up, giving a look of disappointment to Nadar as he stepped out from the group.

"Yeah, deus ex is a bitch that is difficult to match against." He chuckled, crossing his arms behind his head as he turned to her. "What's with the look? You almost managed to get rid of me and have ten assassins taken out before they became a threat. I thought you'd be having a field day right now."

"Are you kidding me?" She questioned, stomping up to Nadar while glaring. "Did you seriously not learn a thing from nearly getting killed?"

"Not the first time so I don't know what you're expect-hey!"

Before he finished, Asuna grabbed his shirt by the collar and pulled his face close to hers, letting him see the clear anger and annoyance in her eyes. "You're a key member in the Assault Team, you just took out a fraction of dangerous criminal players that could potentially kill five players of their same level single-handedly. How much impact do you think that could have on us if you got yourself killed?"

"If you're trying to tell me to understand my importance in life you're kinda failing." He responded. "I already take those into account and I don't really care. I die you just replace me, that's how the Assault Team has been."

"Are you really that dense?" She asked as she slapped his shoulder, stepping back before turning to Kirito. "Are you going to say anything to him?"

The swordsman just shrugged in response, sighing before speaking. "Nadar's always been like this. His planning is often on the verge of suicide ever since the game started. I mean, you saw how he saved us from Illfang. If he hasn't learned in a year what makes you think anything I tell him will change how he acts?"

"Even I can't get him to be more cautious." Sachi added on. "It hurts, but I understand that he has to fight the way he does. If we make him change to be more conservative, his effectiveness will go down. And as long as he makes it back, I don't care how he fights. Because I know that he's fighting his hardest, and that I'll be there when he needs me."

"You're all ridiculous." Asuna sighed. "He's going to get himself killed and none of you are even trying to fix it."

"Your affection is noted." Nadar then quickly jumped away to avoid Asuna's rapier, laughing as the tip of the blade was just in front of his face. "Man this is so much fun." As the girl pulled her rapier back, Nadar gave her a natural look, his laugh going away almost instantly. "But I am thankful regardless. So take that much into account."

"A personality other than annoying? Who are you and what have you done to Nadar?"

"Fair enough." He sighed, rolling his eyes. "How did you all even get here so quickly? That just went through my head and there's no way you could have kept up."

"Klein was in the Town of Beginnings checking the Wall of Life." Asuna answered. "Teleporting to towns have been a little buggy lately, but players have been as clear as ever."

"So they teleported to me, explained the situation, and we all came running to your rescue." Klein picked up, finishing the explanation. "And it's a good thing they did. A minute later and you'd be crossed off on the wall while I was there. That would be a major mood kill to see my little red buddy go off like that."

"God stop calling me that." Nadar groaned. The two had met several months ago, just a bit before the 25th boss and the samurai of the two never seemed to leave him alone. Despite how much Nadar often mocks or ignores him, Klein always seemed to just accept it and laugh it off. Nadar figured it as him trying to be the adult in the room, but was later proven wrong when Klein explained their "destined friendship" in a simple way.

Red Hair Bros for life.

"But Nadar, I think I speak for all of us when I say you shouldn't do this again." Kirito spoke up, stepping up to the axe man. "I know going solo is your thing for this kind of deal, but it would have been too close. I don't want to have to see another friend die because he got too cocky."

"…Kicking me really low there, aren't ya?"

"And for a good reason." Kirito smiled as he put a hand on Nadar's shoulder. "I don't want you to die, none of us do. And as your guild leader I have a responsibility to guide and protect you."

"Um, I'm the tank here buddy." Nadar countered. "I'm pretty sure that's my job."

Nadar was then elbowed in the gut, courtesy of Sachi who then hugged him. "Just let him have his moment Bro. It isn't often he can act like a leader when there's an audience."

"True, true." Nadar nodded.

"Hey! Not cool Sachi." The swordsman complained, crossing his arms as he looked away. That caused a round of laughter from everyone, minus Asuna who simply sighed.

"Well, everything seems to be fitting together right now. But I can't help but feel like something's missing." Nadar commented, confusing everyone.

"What could be missing right now?" Klein asked, the whole group missing the sound of hooves running on the dirt.

"I don't know, but I can just tell something hasn't happened yet. Something about a… boar?" Nadar slowed as he saw something running, pointing behind Klein as he did. "Hey Klein, what's that?"

"What's wha-GAH!" As he turned around, the incoming boar rammed its head right into Klein's groin, knocking him back and onto the dirt before it walked away.

"Oh there it is." Nadar chuckled as Hachiman simply impaled the boar, rolling his eyes as the mob vanished.

"Was that really worth it?"

"Yeah, duh. I had to see the famous "Boar Killer" in action."

"You're never… going to let that go… are you?" Klein asked as he cupped his crotch, recalling back to when Nadar learned of the story on his first boar kill.

"Nope." Nadar smirked, looking down to the pained Klein. "Never."


	7. Six Arms Worth of Trouble

"The six-armed metallic Buddha statue?" Nadar echoed to what he was told, clearly finding it hard to believe. "You're kidding, right? It's got to be something a little more intimidating than that? Like Multi-limber Demon? Cyborg of eternal combat? General Grievous?"

"Look, I'm not here to comment on what the boss' name is." Asuna responded with her eyes closed, her right eye twitching in annoyance at the axe man. "I'm just here to tell you that the planning has been finished and that the Assault Team will be moving out in two hours."

"You really came all the way down here for that?" Nadar asked, motioning to the room the two were in. "Our home is all the way down here on floor 8, that's 42 floors bellow where you were. Sis' on your friend's list last time I checked, why didn't you just message her?"

"I did." Asuna answered. "But as you know, she's currently asleep. So to make sure that you three would make it to the raid on time I headed down here to make sure one of you were awake to get it."

"Wait, Sis is asleep?"

"Of course, how do you not know?"

"She wasn't in our room when I-!" Nadar's whole body then froze as he clenched onto his chair, realization running through his head. "…I'm going to kill him."

"What?" Asuna questioned, caught off guard as he suddenly stood up.

"I'm going to kill him." He repeated as he turned around and walked towards the door on the right. "I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him." He continued on a loop, ignoring Asuna as she followed him.

"What are you talking about? Who are you going to kill? Where's Sachi?"

Nadar then knocked on the door several times, hearing a confused gasp on the other side. The gasp clearly belonged to the girl in the guild, which caused Nadar to grin darkly as he knew whose room he was at. "Kirito, Sachi, open the door. Right. Now!" He ordered through clenched teeth, a vein appearing on his forehead as he kept himself poorly contained.

"J-Just a minute!"

"Sis, that doesn't work on me. You wear a night gown, nothing to be embarrassed wearing." He then kicked the door open, seeing Sachi nervously holding her hands together while looking anywhere except where he was. "Where is he?"

"W-Where is who?" Sachi stuttered, attempting to dodge the question.

"Sis, this is Kirito's room." Nadar responded, causing Asuna to reel back a bit in surprise. "You know very well I'm looking for Kirito. So I'll ask again, where. Is. He?"

"Bro, please just calm down." Sachi tried to reason with Nadar as he started to walk forward, getting closer to the bed while avoiding her. "Nothing bad happened, I swear. We were just-"

"Sleeping in the same bed?" He interrupted, causing her voice to get lost in her throat. "Don't worry Sis, I'm not mad at you in the slightest. I understand that you're getting close to the dangerous age of sixteen and that I'll have to trust you on making your own decisions." He then kicked the bed up, revealing Kirito who froze in place. "Kirito however… I'm absolutely livid at."

"Nadar hold on a second." Kirito said slowly, turning as Nadar pulled out his axe. "I can explain everything, there's no need to go over this again."

"Oh, so you do remember the last time I caught you two, splendid." Nadar's grin turned into a freakish smile, his eyes glowing as the swordsman realized the mistake he made. "Then I guess I'm going to have to repeat myself. Don't worry though, I won't break any of our furniture like last time. I'll just drag you outside where there isn't anything to worry about breaking."

"Nadar… we're outside of a safe zone. Outside you could-"

"That's the idea."

"Ah!" Kirito creamed as he quickly got up and started running, Nadar giving chase to try and catch him.

"You're dead Kirito!"

"I'm sorry!"

"You think that'll save you!?"

"Nadar, seriously! Nothing was meant by it! We didn't do anything and I'm sorry!"

"What we got here is a failure to communicate! APOLOGIES WON'T KEEP YOUR HEAD ON YOUR BODY!"

"Is he… going to be okay?" Asuna asked, watching as Kirito busted out of the house, with a literal steaming Nadar chasing after him.

"Kirito will be fine." Sachi sighed, trying to calm herself as Nadar's shouting was heard in the distance. "He's faster than Bro, so we don't have to worry about him getting hit. Besides, this happens a few times, Kirito knows to just tire him out."

"How… how many times has this happened?" Asuna stuttered.

"Oh, you know… nine times." Sachi answered. "The first time happened the day after we learned about Laughing Coffin. Nadar woke up earlier than normal and saw that I wasn't in the room and… found me sleeping with Kirito."

"Y-You two sleep together?"

"I swear it isn't anything like what you're thinking! Its just Kirito and I have been dating for at least a month before and-"

"You're dating!?"

"VENGEANCE WILL BE MINE!"

"There's nothing to get vengeance for!"

* * *

"Man, you look awful." Hachiman stated, taking note to the tired appearances of Kirito, Sachi and Asuna. The three had spent the past hour trying to tire out Nadar, the player making it much harder than before. And with his high strength stat it was near impossible for Asuna and Sachi to keep him in place while he was chasing Kirito.

"Don't… just don't." Asuna sighed as she walked past the spearman.

"Well, she's in as stellar of a mood as ever." Hachiman commented before looking to the Moonlit Black Cats. "What happened? Usually Asuna can deal with Nadar as long as you two are at least close by."

"There was… a bit of an altercation." Kirito answered, rubbing the back of his head as he turned to Nadar. "But that'd be putting it lightly, wouldn't it?"

The axe man looked away in response, crossing his arms as he walked away. "Sis, please inform our leader that I am currently not talking to him. And will be ignoring him until said time of my vengeance is brought."

"Vengeance?"

"You remember how we told you that we're dating?" Sachi asked, motioning between herself and Kirito.

"Of course, I made that chest plate for you as a memento for when the relationship started." Hachiman responded.

"Bro's still rather… sore about that."

"Protective brother complex, got it." Hachiman instantly understood, nodding before he heard a teleportation. The whole team turned to the source, seeing Heathcliff walking with his three current paladins and Godfrey. "Been awhile since the commander's helped us with a boss. I think the last one was on floor 39 when we were forced to retreat."

"He thinks that this boss is going to be a milestone for the next 25 floors." Sachi said, watching as the commander walked to the front of the team. "He's not going to be holding anything back during this fight. We can't suffer another loss like back on floor 25. We'd never recover if we did."

"Look at you, suddenly a raid expert." Hachiman smiled, noticing Sachi's understanding on the Assault Team. "You took awhile to catch up, but you've made quite the jump in joining us on the front lines. You've become a skilled warrior since the first time we met."

"It's all thanks to Bro and Kirito, really. I'd still be the scared girl if it weren't for them."

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit."

"Attention." Heathcliff called out, standing his sword and shield on the ground to gain everyone's attention. "This is an important battle for us today. Not only have we reached another 25 floors, but we've also made it to the halfway point of this game. Whether my theory is true or not, I do believe we're in for a difficult battle today. As such, our strategy has been changed to account for any threats."

"The Knights of the Blood Oath and Holy Dragon Alliance will be taking on the boss, with our paladins and lancers switching to weaken the boss." Heathcliff started as the Assault Team prepared themselves, equipping a healing crystal and their top gear. "Teams C and D will act as a support, you are not to engage the boss unless our men start to falter and need a second to heal. As for the minions, the Moonlit Black Cats, my second and the Fuurinkazan will be handling them. And while normally Nadar would be aiding us in damaging the boss early, he will remain with his guild for this battle."

"Hold the fuck up boss man." Nadar spoke up. "I never agreed to a shit plan like this. Why the hell would you put me on minions duty when we have a potential team wiping threat ahead of us?"

"Because the reason the ALS got wiped back on floor 25 was a lack of balancing." Heathcliff answered. "They figured that just taking the boss out fast like normal would work, and as a result the minions broke their formation."

"Still a stupid idea to send me on mobs."

"Well how about this smart guy?" The commander's noble tone broke for a second, sounding more like a controlled whisper as he regarded Nadar. "You wanna be involved in the plan, show up to the meetings like all the others. Sound good buddy?"

"Meh, too much work." Nadar responded, turning his head away while Asuna sighed in annoyance. "I leave that to the idiots so I can say I told you so when it goes wrong."

"Ugh, dealing with you is it's own boss battle." Heathcliff muttered to himself before clearing his throat, going back to his normal voice to continue with the plan.

"Would it kill you to just take the commander's orders and leave it at that?" Asuna asked.

"Yes." Nadar answered. "Because unlike you, I prefer to keep my individuality and not become a robot that can only take orders."

"It's more than that and you know it. We're fighting to get out of this game, and you constantly arguing with the commander does nothing but cause division among us. I'm not sure if you know this, but some players actually look up to you."

"A mistake on their part, if I'm being honest."

"Which means your actions carry more weight then you believe it to! How are you not able to understand that and take this seriously?"

"Because I don't care about them." Nadar responded coldly, looking to Asuna with an indifferent expression. "There are a select few people I worry about in this game, that I'd throw myself into death to save. But other than them? I'd watch and let them die without a moment's hesitation."

"You…!" Asuna then sighed, looking away with a glare. "I don't know what I was expecting. You're our executioner for a reason after all."

"Yeah, you needed someone with a spine to do your dirty work for you."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Hachiman spoke up, getting between the two to separate them. "Can we take this down a few notches? We're about to fight probably our most powerful boss yet and you two arguing is not a good start to it."

"Sure thing, mom?" Nadar rolled his eyes, getting a tired sigh from Hachiman. "Let's just get this over with. I'm in a bad mood as it is."

"Really? I didn't notice."

"Get ready men." Heathcliff announced, turning and opening the boss door. Upon the opening, the room glowed to life, revealing the giant Buddha statue and it's five bars of health. It stood in a very tranquil stance, with it's first set of hands held together by the palms. The second and third pairs were in meditative poses, the index finger and thumbs pinched together in a representation of harmony. "This'll be the fight of our lives. To battle!"

Following the orders, the Assault Team charged head into the battle, readying themselves for the hellish battle to come. As they were getting close, ten smaller Buddha statues with four arms spawned, moving in to intercept the leading members of the raid group. But as the first one was about to reach Heathcliff, it was struck with a throwing axe, courtesy of Hachiman as he and Asuna jumped over the commander.

As they landed they both sent a series of jabs at the minion, depleting its health into the red before the rapier user slashed across the chest and killed it. "Switch!" As the lead teams made their way past, Asuna called out to Kirito and Sachi, who parried two minions before they struck their forwards, reeling back as the force from the minions were more than expected.

"They have high strength stats!" Kirito called out as he blocked three more attacks, each of the minion's arms lashing out before the attack ended. He and Sachi then switched minions without even speaking, cutting across their stomachs before slashing up.

As the two both finished their upward attack, Nadar ran up and slammed the end of his axe into the stomach of Sachi's minion, grinning as he moved left and slammed it into it's partner. "Then let's see how they compare to mine!"

Nadar then broke off from the team, going after three of the minions on his own while the four made quick work of the two he stunned. The moment he reached them, all four threw a series of attacks at him, each getting blocked as Nadar held his ground with his axe. He grinned as he barely budged from the attacks, retaliating and cutting all three of them with a single swing. "You're gonna have to do better than that!"

"Nadar look out!" Hearing Hachiman call out to him, Nadar quickly jumped back from the mobs, watching as a blue laser vaporized them. Turning to the source, he saw that the boss had fired the beam from one of its four pinched fingers, the remaining three all having charged spheres at the ready.

"Oh this is going to be painful." Nadar said to himself as more minions spawned, the rest of the team meeting up and standing in ready stances. "Here's the plan: Kirito and I are going to off balance the minions while the others move in from behind. If they're paired up in three or more, I'll do it alone and he'll jump in with the others when attacking, clear?"

"Got it!" The swordsman responded as the two charged forward, running side by side as they both threw an attack out to stun the minions in front of them. As the minions stared to reel back, the three spare players struck out at them with blistering speed. Their skills made seeing their attacks impossible to follow, cutting the two minions health bars to ribbons before being finished by a swing from Kirito.

"Back up!" Nadar shouted as he spun on his heel, throwing his axe forward to block two minions that were coming from behind. A third one appeared quickly, striking at his side and opening his guard to all three. Each were able to get two powerful blows before Kirito slashed forward, cutting across all of their chests in one swing before Sachi and Asuna blitzed past them, turning the minions to shards in one quick attack.

"Eight down." Kirito panted as four more of the minions spawned. "This is going to be a long fight, isn't it?"

"We should back up and regroup with Klein's team." Hachiman stated, throwing a jab out to a minion that Nadar blocked. "These guys are spawning in greater numbers each time we kill a group. We'll be able to avoid getting overrun if we all group together."

"Sounds good. Fall back!" Kirito ordered, the five all retreating back as the four minions followed. "Klein! Heads up!" He called out to the guild leader, jumping forward to cut an arm off a minion that was about to hit him.

"Good timing!" The samurai grinned as he turned, preparing a sword skill and cutting one of the minions chasing them clean in half. As he did, Nadar put himself between Klein and another minion, blocking its attack and throwing it back. "Good catch buddy!"

"Just because you managed to one shot that minion, I'll accept that." He grinned back. "Guess that katana's not all show after all. It's got some good slash stats to it."

"No one's abilities with a single sword can match a samurai's." Klein responded, parrying a minion before the two turned, swapping minions and killing them with heavy skills.

"Big talk coming from the guy who get's a nut shot from a boar." Nadar chuckled, taking a breather as he readied for the next minion's attack. With the combined efforts of the two teams, they were able to deal with the minions at a much better pace. While the numbers were getting larger and larger, the teams started moving faster and faster, reading each other's moves and responding faster than the previous second.

' _This is getting too easy.'_ Nadar thought as he inspected the boss room. Aside from the boss itself, there was only two minions left that had more health than the previous ones. _'Even if Heathcliff's theory is wrong, I would have expected some kind of big bad challenge at the halfway point.'_ As he looked more at the boss, his eyes slowly widened as he saw the spheres of energy had returned, much larger than the first time it was seen. _'It's getting stronger? It hasn't even gone into the red yet.'_

As he took note of the boss' apparent growth in strength, Kirito and Klein took down one of the last minions with a combined attack, destroying its health before it could even protect itself. And that was when he saw the spheres grow an inch bigger, giving him all the indication he needed. "The minions are making it stronger."

"Did you say something?" Asuna asked, turning back to see Nadar begin to sweat. "Nadar?"

"We can't kill that last minion! The boss' energy has been getting higher after each minion we've killed!" The axe man shouted, confusing the party as Sachi and Hachiman had a skill prepared and were already in the motion of attacking. As their attacks hit and the minion began to shatter, Nadar grunted and turned back, running towards the lead teams as fast as he could.

Once the last minion had been destroyed, the boss' energy spheres grew double in size before vanishing into its hands as the whole room went dark. "Everyone get back!" Nadar shouted as he ran, pushing through the lancers and paladins that were in the middle of healing.

"Nadar?" Heathcliff looked back. "What are you doing, you're breaking formation!"

"The boss has been gaining power from us killing the minions!" Nadar shouted back, shocking everyone as he reached Heathcliff. When he had finally got there, the boss' closed eyes suddenly brightened with silver light, the whole room exploding with a new golden aura to reveal the boss' new posture. All six arms were spread out, held flat with the palms glowing silver, tattoos of the same color going across it.

Nadar wasn't able to get a step past Heathcliff when the boss prepared its next attack, slamming all of its palms together and causing the light across it to amplify. "Men, fall back!" While both the Knights of the Blood Oath and Holy Dragon Alliance retreated back, two of the non-guild teams stayed in place, the tanks preparing their shields as if to block the next attack. "Did you not hear me, fall back now!"

"We can handle it sir! We have more than enough stats."

"The boss has been buffed, we have to wait and-"

"Too late!" Nadar shouted over the commander, swinging his axe as the boss clasped all of its hands together and slammed down. Nadar wasn't even able to stall it as it broke past his attack, hitting the ground and causing cracks to form across the whole room. A single second past by before lights exploded out from the cracks and blasts went in every direction, not a single player able to avoid the attack as they were all blown back.

As the closest two, Heathcliff and Nadar were both sent back with the largest amount of force. The commander was able to protect himself with his shield, his health barely taking too much damage with the aid of his poise, but the axe man was sent flying back, hitting the wall before falling to the ground. The player winced as he grabbed his side, getting up to notice that half of his health had been taken by the attack.

"Damn it…" He groaned as he got to his feet, looking around to see the parties' condition. Most of the players at the back were safe, taking the least amount of damage but still falling into the yellow. The front players however suffered much worse, the two teams that refused to back up losing six players in total and the Holy Dragon Alliance losing a lancer. His focus then quickly turned to his guild, seeing Sachi and Kirito forcing themselves up to stand with their swords, getting a breath of relief from him.

"Well, now we know what we're dealing with." Nadar said to himself, readying his axe and running back towards the front, preparing a power skill as Heathcliff's paladins caught up to him. "Listen, follow your commander's call but be ready to block any of that boss' hands. If any so much as look like they're clenching, you go in and prepare to block them, got it!?"

"You're not our commander!"

"Yeah, I don't have that big of a stick up my ass!" Nadar responded to the lead Paladin, picking up speed as he went ahead of the paladins. "But unlike me, you care about players, if any attack like that hits again they're screwed!"

The paladins remained silent as they looked at one another, the lead looking back up to Nadar as they reached the commander. "We're doing this for the others, don't think for a second that means we're willing to listen to you!"

"Tell it to someone who cares!" Nadar screamed as he lunged past Heathcliff, timing it right to get past the boss' palm that was aimed for the commander. "Try this on for size you overgrown terracotta pot!" Striking upwards, Nadar's attack went all the way up the boss' chest as he jumped up, remaining in the air as he prepared a downward skill attack. As his blade glowed, the boss focused up on him and sent three palm strikes up, the first taking his attack while the other two hit his body. The resulting force knocked him crashing back, spinning on the ground twice before he dug his axe's end into the ground to stop himself.

Looking at his health, he stared in shock at how he lost another quarter of his health. _'Two attacks and I lose that much health? That's… this thing is too strong, even with my stats 20 levels above this floor.'_

"Brother!" Sachi shouted as she and Kirito ran over to him, the two stopping next to him and preparing their swords.

"I'm alright." Nadar responded, pulling out a healing crystal and activating it. "This boss has too high of a strength stat to counter with its buff. I can only block on of its hands before my strength is overwhelmed by it."

"We saw, Klein and Hachiman both are going to start pulling players back so we can regroup." Kirito said, taking the front as guard while Nadar recovered his health.

"What about Lightning Flasher?"

"Asuna's moving up along with Godfrey to aid Heathcliff and their paladins in stalling the boss." Sachi answered. "They'll tell the commander our plan and we'll be able to pull out."

"Good, with any luck we'll be able to recover and-"

"Look out!" Nadar was then caught off guard as Kirito pushed him out of the way, blocking an attack from a minion that spawned behind them. "More minions!"

"Kirito!" Sachi called out, the swordsman turning to see that at least a dozen more of the mobs have spawned. "They're going for the others!"

"Everyone hasn't recovered from the AOE attack yet." Nadar grunted, cutting across the minion Kirito saved him from. "They won't be able to hold them off for long, even with the Fuurinkazan protecting them." Nadar then looked up to the Knights of the Blood Oath, seeing the lead team paladins starting to take a beating while blocking the boss' attacks. "Sis, go back there and help them."

"What about you?"

"Kirito and I are going to help the Blood Dolts with stalling the boss. You have the highest speed between us and have a good strength stat to help take care of the minions fast enough."

"…Don't get killed, got it?" Sachi said back, taking a look at Nadar's health as she noted he was barely above half due to the crystal not being able to fully heal him. But even then, she ran off towards the rest of the Assault Team, knowing that she could trust them.

"You ready?" Kirito asked, getting a single nod from Nadar before they took off. Kirito had the higher sped, so he was able to make it to the boss first and go for a lunging stab to hit the boss, cutting across its side to stop it from attacking.

"Pull back anyone below a quarter health!" Nadar ordered as he reached the team, spinning once before slashing up diagonally to take a small chunk of the boss' health.

"Franklin, Kudzu, fall back and assist the retreat!" The commander ordered, two of the paladins falling back as ordered. "Ready to stand fast, soldier?"

"Just tell me if the boss gets ready for that slam attack again." Nadar shot back, ignoring Heathcliff's insulted look as he parried one of the boss' hands. Not staying long on it, Heathcliff moved ahead and blocked the two follow up attacks, stalling long enough for Kirito and Godfrey to land two power attacks on it. When it moved to attack Kirito, Heathcliff's last paladin Church blocked the first attack, the second breaking his defense and the third hitting hit away.

"Get him out of here!" Nadar ordered as he spun, slamming his axe against the boss' side before jumping away from any retaliation. As the paladin retreated back, the five remaining players all stood their ground and fought against the boss with surprising coordination. Ten minutes of the team working together had managed to get far on their own, the boss dropping down to a single health bar as the last of the minions were being dealt with.

"We might just pull this off." Kirito smiled as he jumped back, Heathcliff moving forward to block the next attack. But as the fight was going on, the commander had been noticing the boss' markings getting even brighter with each attack, its previous AOE making them go dim from the loss of power. But with it growing again, he could confirm that it was getting stronger based on the amount of minions defeated.

"We cannot let them take out the last minion." He instructed, the swordsman in the group looking back to see two remain. "Kirito, go back and prevent them from finishing it off. Give one of my paladins a potion to recover and they can keep the last one away."

"Got it." Kirito nodded, turning and running back while the four remaining players stood at the ready.

"We still going with the fall back old timer?" Nadar asked. "Or are we close enough that we should try and go for the final push?"

"Most of our tanks have used their healing crystal already, and given the little amount a regular health potion does means time is a risk." He responded. "I'd hope that we could defeat it in possibly another twenty or thirty minutes."

"As long as I get to kick this Chakravartin wannabe's ass, I don't really care either way." Nadar commented, slashing away one of the boss' hands before Godfrey and Asuna got the other two.

"Your teamwork here's been rather good Nadar." Godfrey noted, watching as he quickly moved past Asuna and landed a horizontal slash on the boss. "You have the real marks of a Blood Oath-"

"Go fuck yourself." Nadar said in a grunted voice, using his axe to block one of the boss' attacks and move behind Heathcliff so he'd block the remaining strikes.

"No, stop!" As he slid to a halt, he heard Hachiman's panicked shout and turned back to see a player attack the last minion, anger on his face as he drove his lance through it.

"That's for Gregore!"

"Are you trying to get us killed!?" Nadar shouted in pure anger, turning back to the boss as he saw it clasp all of its hands together. "Everyone brace yourselves!" The boss' attack came even quicker this time, the explosion even brighter as the four closest players were all sent off of their feet, none having enough poise to remain standing.

Despite the latest attack, Nadar was able to quickly recover, skidding to a halt on his feet as he looked towards the Blood Oath players he was just with. Godfrey and Asuna had both entered the red, the former knocked back towards the now badly injured remaining players. The rapier user was closer to the boss, struggling to move from being in direct contact with the attack.

As she was pushing herself up, she stared in shock as the boss approached her, three palms reared back as it prepared another series of attacks. _'I… I don't have the time to get out of the way!'_ With her commander still in the process of getting up, the player had thought her fate was all but sealed, fear in her eyes as the boss threw its palms forward.

But before the first one hit, Nadar slammed his axe down with all the strength he could, twisting his body and leaving his axe to get between Asuna and the boss. He was only able to cross his arms in defense, managing to block the second attack before his guard broke, the third hitting him clean and knocking him back into Asuna.

The two were sent rolling back, Nadar lying flat on his chest while Asuna was able to start getting up. She stared in shock as she saw his health go into the red, stopping just at 5% as his cloak was destroyed. "Nadar!"

"Fall… back." Nadar grunted, gripping his arm as he saw a debuff icon next to his health. His left arm was broken, which meant he was incapable of fighting for at least an hour. He could still throw a punch with his right arm, but against a boss that was a hopeless effort. His scarf then shattered, his health going up a fraction up to 15%. It was a one-time item, that once the player went below 10%, it'd automatically return a random amount of health.

As the boss prepared another attack, Nadar was only able to get up to his knees when it threw it, wide open to the assault. In the second that the attack was thrown, Heathcliff moved right in front of Nadar, blocking all three palm strikes flawlessly without even being fazed. He then brought his sword up and struck the boss with a large amount of force, not doing much damage in total but knocking the boss several meters back.

"Commander!?"

"Get Nadar out of here." Heathcliff ordered, remaining in place with his shield forward as the boss recovered. "I'll hold the boss off while you two recover with the others."

"But commander-"

"That's an order Asuna." The commander's voice was cold, strict and more calculated then before, all formalities pushed aside as he prepared himself for the boss. "We cannot afford to lose anymore members in this fight. Regroup and ready the troops for when the battle is important, not while we're all down."

"Understood… commander." Asuna relented, putting Nadar's good arm over her shoulders as she helped the player up. "Come on Nadar, we have to pull back."

"I'm crippled, not deaf." Nadar groaned back, showing that his sense of humor was still there, no matter how annoying it was. But since he was still able to move, it made it easier for the girl to get him back to the formation with everyone else. As they passed by the defense line, she put him down to let him sit, collapsing to her knees shortly after to recover.

"Nadar, man you look beat." Klein commented as he knelt next to the two, opening his inventory and summoning two large healing potions. "Here, these won't get you to max, but it should be enough to get past half." While Asuna accepted the potion, Nadar used his good hand to push it back into Klein's hand, confusing the samurai. "Nadar?"

"My arm's broken, I can't fight until the effect wears off." He informed, motioning to his hanging limb. "I don't have any skill attacks with swords, and there isn't a heavy weapon that I can use that doesn't require both arms. Get it to someone who can actually help, I'm done."

"Are you sure?" Klein asked. "I know you have a lot of health, but if you get hit by one more attack you're done for."

"I can watch over him." Sachi said, her and Kirito reaching the three.

"No, you and Kirito's teamwork is important in finishing this boss." Nadar responded. "You two can't waste your time staying here."

"Well we aren't just going to leave you."

"You don't have much of a choice."

"I'll stay with him." Asuna spoke up, getting the two redheads' attention. "I haven't been of too much use fighting that boss head on. My strength stat isn't high enough to do more than just parry one of its attacks indirectly. But if any more minions spawn I'll be able to handle them."

"It'll be alright Sis." Nadar stated, seeing his sister hesitate. "She's a total kiss ass, but Asuna at least has skill to back herself up. Besides…" He then pointed forward, past the defense line and to the boss. "I don't think we need to worry too much right now."

"What do you…" Kirito wasn't even able to finish as he and the others all looked towards the boss, seeing an unbelievable sight. Currently, Heathcliff was directly battling against the statue. His stance was strong as he was able to block each attack sent at him, knocking the palm strikes away as if he was knocking a slime away. Even when the boss started throwing more than three strikes, he was able to knock them away with both sword and shield with incredible reflexes.

It was a sight few could believe they were seeing. The commander was effortlessly keeping the boss from advancing, giving up no ground and retaliating with ferocity. It was believed that Heathcliff was the strongest player in the Assault Team, but to see such skill and power like this being used seemed closer to that of a fantasy. But here he was, giving a boss its run for his money without breaking a sweat.

It felt… impossible.

* * *

Ten whole minutes. Heathcliff was able to hold back the boss for the same amount of time alone as he did with six players. And after those ten minutes, the heaviest hitters of the Assault Team were able to heal and jump in to finally defeat the boss. Kirito was the one who landed the decisive blow, timing the attack alongside Heathcliff before the boss could recover from its final hit.

But right now, there wasn't any cheering from the defeat of the 50th boss. No, all there was was silence as everyone panted and desperately tried to regain their breath. Only a few were able to stand, including Nadar, Asuna and Heathcliff, as they were the least drained after recovering.

"We lost sixteen today." Nadar informed, turning to the team as he had his menu out.

"Sixteen… that was a third of us." Kirito panted, him and Sachi leaning their backs against each other to keep the other up.

"That many people died just here." Klein grunted, slamming his fist against the ground. "All of that because we didn't think what would happen if we killed all of the minions."

"Nothing happened before, there was no way we could have guessed that." Nadar responded, showing an attempt at trying to get the guilt off the samurai.

"Doesn't make me feel any better."

"We're going to have to increase our numbers again." Hachiman spoke up, standing up and walking up to Heathcliff. "It'll stall us for another week compared to floor 25, but I think we need to make the Assault Team at least 60 players. Preferably tanks if we're going to deal with bosses that share patterns to this one."

"Agreed." Heathcliff nodded, still somehow managing to pull off the impossible and remain in the green of his health. Although Nadar could tell he was just barely there by about 10 HP. "Everyone, return home and recover. We'll be waiting a month so that we can bolster our numbers once more and prepare for the next boss."

"That's all you can say?" A player spoke up from the group, getting the four standing players' attention.

"Pardon me?"

"We fought that thing for so long, and then that AOE it had completely killed ten of us. And then when we're downed from the second, you manage to pull the impossible and fight it for ten minutes alone!" By now the player stood up, anger in his eyes as he pointed at the commander. "You had that kind of skill and kept it back for so long? We lost friends because of that, I lost my best friend since we were kids! All because you hid something so important from us!"

"Hey, come now." Godfrey interjected, trying to defuse the tension. "The commander acted in the heat of the moment. We have no idea if he had fully expected to get through it like that. Let's just calm down before anyone does something they'll regret."

"No way did he not know he could do that! You saw how ridiculous he fought, he wouldn't go into such odds without knowing for sure he could do it! Answer me, what did you do!?"

Murmurs of doubt began to go across the Assault Team, the Knights of the Blood Oath moving to protect their leader should the situation turn south. When he feared it would get out of hand, Heathcliff put on a stoic face and began to spoke. "What I had just done was use the Unique Skill I had earned back on floor 20: the Divine Blade."

The whole team became silent as he spoke, shocked to hear something as a Unique Skill. "I do not know what the prerequisites are, but all I know is that it came with the advancements I had with my paladin class. It boosts my attack and defense to an amount I have yet to see be beaten. It's the very reason I act as a support and never go for a finishing blow on a boss."

"He's so OP he feels that everyone else needs a boost instead." Nadar muttered, Hachiman turning as he heard a spark of admiration. "Gotta admit, he's a lot better of a man I'll ever be."

"That… that's unfair!" The player shouted back. "Why would the system give someone a Unique Skill, and why you of all people!? You didn't start fighting with us until floor 22, Gregore's been in this team since floor 1! If anyone deserved it it's-" The player's hair on his neck then shot up as a throwing knife cut his cheek, dipping his health back into the red.

"It was you." Hachiman said, two more throwing knives between his fingers as his cursor turned orange. "You were the one that killed the last minion the second time. You could have gotten us all killed!"

"That thing killed Gregore! I don't regret what I did!"

"So your friend is so important, you allowed seven more players to die?" The spearman asked, the player's throat clenching as Hachiman glared at him. "And you're acting like Heathcliff is the villain here. The commander had actually saved players with his Divine Blade, the only reason he kept it secret was because of players like you. He knew people would get jealous and that it could divide us, so he knew it was best to keep it under tight lips."

"You're defending him?"

"It is the winning side." Nadar stated, stepping up to the player without being stopped. "Hachiman has a point after all, you're the reason that seven players were killed. The moment you killed that minion you sealed their fates. Innocent, albeit stupid, people lost their lives because of you. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Gregore wouldn't have wanted that to be done in his name."

"Is Aincrad's Executioner really going to try and give me a talk on morals?"

"No, I'd rather show you." Before he could register it, Nadar punched the player square in the jaw, knocking him off his feet and onto his ass. "That's what you do to assholes that get people hurt. Want to know what you do to people when they kill people? Because I have a few one-handed axes that'll be more than-"

"Nadar." Heathcliff called out, gripping the player's shoulder with his free hand. "That's enough. You don't have to go further in your defense."

"I'm not one of your lap dogs." Nadar responded, shaking his shoulder free. "I'm more than willing to go against you and kill this guy."

"Don't think of it as an order, but as a request." The commander said. "Hachiman is already going to be put off on the next boss because of his outburst, I'd rather not have our heaviest hitter be taken out of the equation as well." He then turned to the remaining players, motioning to them with his hand. "We may not be able to bring back who was lost, but we must get stronger to protect who's still alive."

Nadar's glare remained for a few minutes until it fell on Kirito and Sachi, his anger wavering as he let his shoulders fall. "Fine, but I'm not doing this because you ordered it. Or because of your BS "we must get stronger" quote."

"Honestly I'm surprised you agreed at all."

"Well… there's always a first." Nadar said as he walked past Heathcliff, stopping by his guildmates to help them up. "Come on, this place is starting to bug me."

"More like you're getting ready to kill someone." Kirito chuckled, getting helped up after Sachi.

"You did the right thing Bro." Sachi stated, smiling at her brother as they started to walk, other parties beginning to follow.

"Yeah? Well it sure didn't feel right."

"Bet it didn't feel wrong either."

"Wait!" The three stopped as they heard Asuna call out to them, the girl jogging to them. She stopped just a few feet away, taking a second to recover before speaking. "Nadar, I know we don't always see eye to eye on things, but I just wanted to say… thank you." She then gave a small bow, surprising Nadar at the formality. "If you didn't jump in front of the boss' attack, I would've been killed."

"Don't… think anything of it." Nadar said, recovering from the shock of her thanks. "As annoying as you are, you're an important part of this team." He then turned and started to walk again, smirking as he looked over his shoulder. "But don't expect me to jump into another one of those because your fat ass wouldn't move."

"What did you say!?"

"Byeee~!" Nadar cheered in a devilish tone as he opened the next floor's doors, Sachi running up to him and smiling at him. "What?"

"You liked the compliment."

"Tell Kirito and they'll never find his body."

"Don't you mean my body?"

"I'd never hurt you Sis. Kirito, on the other hand is not so safe."


	8. Helping Someone in Need

"This blows." Nadar groaned as he walked through a woods on floor 35, both his arms crossed behind his head as he and Klein walked through the area. "I can't believe they kicked me out of the house for the night. I mean what did I do wrong?"

"I think the overall purpose behind the message they sent me was "He tried to off Kirito again, please don't let him come to the house until he's cooled off."" Klein smirked as the axe man sighed.

"At least we managed to find a job to do while I'm booted from the place." Nadar said, thinking back to the quest they had set up. "So it was some chick with red hair and a cross spear, right?"

"That's what the guy said." Klein responded as he opened his menu, going over the details the player told them. "She's going around and befriending players, and once they trust her or she's figured them out her guild Titan's Hand moves in while they're on a hunt and attacks them. Silver Flags was a bit different though, usually Titan's Hand spares players, but I guess they didn't have enough col and were killed for the wasted time."

"Then they made the mistake of becoming red players." Nadar shrugged. "I'm a little disappointed we aren't dealing with Laughing Coffin, but I guess any job is better than sitting around town or grinding for XP. I've already gone up a bit since Six-Arms and I'd rather take it easy for once."

"Then why did you attack Kirito?"

"Guy put his arm around Sachi's shoulders, he was just asking for it."

Klein sighed as he regarded Nadar, putting a hand to his head as he looked away. "Damn man, you really don't have any chill do you? That honestly sounds like one of the last things a protective brother would threaten someone over. I mean, wouldn't you prefer that to kissing?"

"Oh they're smart enough not to." Nadar chuckled, a dark aura surrounding him as he grinned evilly. "They know I'd raise hell in order to make Kirito suffer if they so much as tried."

"Remind me not to get on your bad side."

"Pina!"

A scream tore through the woods, getting both of the two's attention as they turned to where they heard it. They nodded at each other once, not even having to speak before they started to run towards the person who screamed. Neither had high agility, so it took a solid two minutes before they finally reached it. As they did, they witnessed a young girl strike at a giant ape monster and land several blows before it collapsed and died.

But once she had defeated the monster, she collapsed to her knees, too weak to keep on fighting. The problem however was that there was two ape monsters approaching her from behind with nothing but the intent of killing her. She turned to face the two, tears flowing down her face as she prepared herself to die.

In the next instant, the two ape's reeled in pain before shattering, revealing both Nadar and Klein standing with their weapons out. The realization of her survival brought some happiness, but it was lost as she remembered the loss she just suffered through. "Pina…" She then reached down to a glowing feather, gently picking it up and holding it between her hands.

As the two players sheathed their weapons, the girl began to cry once more, grieving the loss of her companion. "Hey, uh… what's the feather for?" Klein asked, being the one to figure one of them had to speak.

"It's Pina… my friend."

"Ohh, you're a beast tamer?" Klein asked, trying to sound excited to make the girl feel better. "Hey, this feather belongs to Pina right? That means you could revive it?"

"W-What?" The girl sniffled, wiping her eyes as she looked over to Klein.

"Yeah, try tapping on it. It should be registered as an item." Following his advice, the girl tapped on the feather, revealing a menu that stated the item's name: "Pina's Heart". "See? Then that means there is a chance that you can revive it."

"Revive Pina?"

"It's a bit of a stretch, but there's a rare item on floor 47 at a place called the Hill of Memories. A flower spawns there that allows you to revive pets after they were killed."

"No way." The girl said, turning her whole body to look at Klein. "I can really revive Pina?"

"Yeah, but there is a bit of a problem." Klein added, rubbing the back of his head as he had to bare some bad news. "The flower will only spawn if the familiar's master is there. Me and my friend here would be more than willing to make a detour to help, but there's nothing we can really do there."

"Floor 47…" The girl muttered, knowing that her current level is far too low to even attempt the floor. "Well, thank you for telling me. Maybe if I work hard enough I'll be able to-"

"You have a time limit of three days." Nadar's sudden interruption caused the girl's eyes to widen in horror. "If you aren't at least level 50 you don't have a hair of a chance there, and that's just asking for death. And all for a virtual pet that means nothing in the long run."

"Nadar!" Klein shouted, getting up and grabbing a hold of the axe man's shoulder. "You can't just go and say that!"

"It's stupid and a hopeless situation to put yourself in, especially for something as worthless as a pet." Nadar continued, pushing Klein's arm off as he regarded the girl. "It's best to just pack it and give up, there's no chance of you getting through there. Not with how weak you are."

"Nadar…"

"I'll get stronger!" The girl shouted, catching Klein off guard as she turned to them. "You'll see! I'll get way stronger than I ever have in just two… days…" The girl slowly trailed off as she saw Nadar, recognizing him from a year ago. "Are you… that player from back then?"

"I see you've at least tried to make yourself stronger than your real self." Nadar responded, smirking at the girl who he had met back on the first day of the game. "Didn't get too far, but I'll give you the credit of doing it."

"Umm… did I miss something here?" Klein asked, looking between the two. "Do you two know each other?"

"I wouldn't say we know each other, but we talked for a bit back on the first floor." He then walked over and reached down to the girl, his expression neutral as he offered to help her up. "I didn't introduce myself back then, my name is Nadar."

"S-Silica." The girl responded, taking the boy's hand before getting pulled up easily.

"Well then Silica, I guess you really stand by saying you'll get stronger?" Nadar questioned, releasing her hand as he opened his menu.

"I-I do."

"I'd hate to tell you this, but there's no way in hell you'll raise your level enough to handle yourself on floor 47 before the time expires." Nadar stated, getting Silica to look down in shame. She was then caught off guard as a trade menu popped up in front of her, several high-level armor pieces and even a dagger getting listed off. "But these'll at least make sure you stand a chance against the mobs."

"Wait, you're helping her?" Klein asked, sounding honestly confused at the situation.

"I'm simply giving her the tools to prepare herself." Nadar answered. "Whether or not I actually help her boils down to how well she handles herself against the mobs we come across."

"Um, I know this isn't enough to pay you. But-"

"Save it." Nadar interrupted Silica, turning to her and dismissing her attempt at trading col. "I'm not in any need for col, and what you're paying me with is something to kill the time while I'm kicked out of my house."

"Awww, Nadar's growing a heart." Klein smiled, placing a hand on the axe man's shoulder. "And here I thought you only cared about Sachi." Klein was then elbowed in the gut, doubling him over while Nadar looked down to him.

"Let's get something straight, I'm not "growing a heart", just testing someone who I told to get stronger. Clear?"

"Crystal." Klein groaned back, clutching his stomach.

* * *

The three then found their way out of the forest and to the nearest town, Mishe to stay for the night. They had a seemingly comfortable silence, with Nadar walking t the front while Klein and Silica walked next to each other. "Hey look, it's Silica!"

"Oh great." Nadar mumbled, hearing a player shout and the sound of two pairs of footsteps.

"It took you a long time to get back, we were getting worried." One of the two players said.

"Um… I…"

"Do you want to party up with us? Will take you wherever you want to go."

"That's really nice of you to offer, but…" Silica began to trail off, trying to find an excuse as to why she doesn't want to go with the pair. Her eyes then drifted over to Nadar and Klein, grabbing the former's arm before speaking. "Well I sort of already agreed to be in a party with them so…"

That caused the two to grumble and give Nadar a dirty look, to which he responded with glaring daggers back, his eyes glowing for a split second that caused them to take a step back in fear. "Yeah, that's what I thought." The axe man said as he, Klein and Silica all started to walk again, the samurai giving a brief apology to the two before catching up.

"I'm sorry I put you two on the spot like that." Silica apologized, looking over to the two.

"Nah, it's no problem." Klein responded, waving his hand. "We deal with being in the spotlight more than a few times in our line of work. But what about you? Seems like you must be pretty popular since you're a beast tamer. I bet you have tons of fans, like those two guys Nadar Nadared away."

"That is not going to be a thing." Nadar countered. "And besides, there's no way I'd peg those two as fans. Not for someone that's young enough to be an idol in the works."

"You're right…" Silica mumbled, looking down as she spoke. "No one takes me seriously, they usually want me to be their mascot." She then began to form tears again, thinking of her pet dragon. "Maybe their right. They called me Dragon Tamer and I guess… it went to my head."

"Why are you crying?" Nadar asked, repeating the first words he ever said to the girl. "Letting something get to your head is one thing, but showing tears over regret for it is pointless. If you want to prove them wrong and truly show your image, wipe your tears away and stand up for yourself. No one will take a crying girl seriously."

That caused Silica to smile, wiping away her tears as the three were just about at the inn. "Do either of you live around here?"

"Not really, my guild's place is up at floor 49." Klein answered, rubbing the back of his head. "And Nadar's here is all the way down on the lower levels, below floor 10 even."

"Since neither of us were anywhere close, we figured getting a room at the inn here would work." Nadar finished, Silica releasing his arm and keeping an even pace with him.

"If you stay, I can take you two out for some cheesecake." Silica beamed. "It's really good here."

"Well, a samurai never passes up an offer like that." Klein responded.

"I've eaten nothing but bread rolls for the past week now since Sis doesn't like my constant spree of keeping her and Kirito separate." Nadar followed, showing a surprise amount of relaxation as he put a hand to his stomach. "So honestly, cheesecake sounds like probably the best thing in the world."

That caused Silica to smile further, but before she could speak, another woman's voice came up. "Oh, Silica, there you are." Silica notably became more neutral in her expression, the three all turning to see her old party, Rosalia being the one to speak.

Both Nadar and Klein instantly recognized the player, her appearance almost matching up perfectly with who they were sent for. Neither gave a hint of their realization, as they kept staring at the party with neutral expressions. "Wow, you made it out of the forest alive. Good for you girl."

"Hang on." Rosalia realized, walking up to Silica while speaking in a knowing tone. "Where's your little lizard? Did it run away?"

"Pina died saving me." The young girl started, determination filling her as she looked back to Rosalia. "But I'm going to get Pina back!"

"Really? Then I guess you'll be heading to the Hill of Memories then." Rosalia concluded, a smirk plastered right on her face. "I wonder if you'll be able to clear it at your level."

"Of course she will." Nadar spoke up, stepping between the two with a notable irritated gaze. "Levels don't mean that much if your only separated by five or seven. And without your party slowing her down she'll make it all the way without breaking a sweat."

"Man, talk about breaking character…" Klein muttered, taking note to Nadar standing up for the lower level player. Most of the time, he wouldn't even so much as look at someone almost 30 levels below them, but here he is defending one from someone who as far as Silica knew was only a bully.

Rosalia took note of Nadar's appearance, from the simple outfit he wore to his frail looking body. She then sighed as she figured he was just another fan, attempting at trying to impress a girl gamer. "Oh my god, this girl seduced another player. No, it isn't too hard to clear a dungeon a few levels higher than you but none of you look that strong."

"Hehehe, what!?" Nadar asked with an eerily calm voice, his pupils dilating to a show the amount of anger he was feeling.

"I mean come now, that tough and strong stand and voice you put on may seem intimidating, but I bet the reason you wear no armor is because of that lucky drop axe you got." Rosalia pointed to said axe, noting that it was a weapon drop found on floor 40. "And since it looked oh so cool, you decided that your armor wasn't that important. After all, it must be so impressive and unique to run around in basic attire with a big axe."

As the girl kept speaking, Nadar's pupils kept getting smaller and smaller, hitting their limits as an angered smile graced his lips. His right eye was twitching constantly, a vein appearing on his forehead as anyone around could clearly tell he was struggling to keep his anger in check. But unfortunately for the party, none of them knew just how dangerous the player was.

Luckily, however, Klein knew very well what Nadar would do while angry and grabbed both his and Silica's shoulders before starting to push them away. "Well would you look at the time, we should probably start heading for the inn now and rest up. We got a BIG day ahead of us going to the Hill of Memories and we shouldn't stay up any longer than we have to."

* * *

 _ **BANG!**_

"She called me weak!"

"We know Nadar."

 _ **BANG!**_

"She tried to psychoanalyze me!"

"I get it Nadar."

 _ **BANG!**_

"That woman pisses me off!"

"I understand Nadar."

"Ummmm…" Silica spoke up, all of them sitting at a table in the inn to eat dinner. "Is he, okay?"

"Who, Nadar?" Klein asked, acting completely calm as he took a swig of mead as Nadar repeatedly slammed his forehead against the table. "Yeah he's fine, he just has a little bit of a temper. People like Rosalia know how to push his buttons, but they often find out that doing that leads to a lot more problems then just getting a quick quip out and bailing while they have the chance."

"Oh, well… I'm sorry then." Silica said as Nadar kept hitting his head, feeling responsible for his anger. "Rosalia's not a very good person, but I wasn't expecting her to target either of you while I was there."

"No." Nadar gritted as he slammed his head on the table one last time, looking up and exposing the large hit mark of his forehead. "It isn't your fault. People like her exist in just about every game out there. It's just what happens when you have anonymous status in games."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, SAO's your first MMO right?" Klein asked, getting a nod from her. "Then to put it simply, a lot of people act differently when they're in a game. Some are become saint like and will help anyone, and then there's jerks like Rosalia that love to make gaming a horrible experience for others."

"Under most cases, I'd be a big hypocrite in calling her out." Nadar added on, his wound healing instantly. "Cause honestly? Playing the bad guy is usually really fun. You get some laughs and it over all is a blast when you have friends. But it isn't the same here, here you have a real reputation, with real people." Nadar then pointed up, motioning to his cursor that wasn't present. "You know our cursors are usually green, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, if you commit a crime against someone else like theft or assault, the cursors will turn orange. This signals that you've become a criminal and it remains there unless you stop preforming a crime for several days straight." Klein picked up for Nadar, knowing the subject can be a bit of a sore spot for him. "And then there's a step worse then that, player killers, which we call red players."

"They kill other players?" Silica asked, shocked at the idea of people killing others for fun.

"Normally it isn't that big of a deal. Most games have guilds of people who hunt other players to earn really good loot. But in here, that's a whole other ball park."

"Killing in here is as real as killing with our actual bodies." Nadar spoke up, gripping his fists together as the thought soaked in his head. "When you end someone's life, they're dead for good. And there's no coming back from it with your brain getting fired."

Both Silica and Klein stared at Nadar in sympathy, one knowing that he's been through a lot with deaths and murder while the other could tell by his body language. "But you're a good person!" Silica spoke up, leaning over the table to place a hand over Nadar's, surprising him. "You and Klein both saved me, so you both are clearly good people. You wouldn't have saved me if not!"

As Nadar stared at the girl in confusion, Klein gave a small smile before patting Nadar's shoulder. "Granted you're partially true. The guy's rough around the edges, but all in all I'd agree in saying he's good."

"I wouldn't." Nadar muttered, looking down for a second before taking note to Silica's expression. He then sighed, closing his eyes as he took time to plan his next response. "At most I'd say I'm okay, but after that you'd be really pushing the limit." That caused Silica to smile, getting him to look away again, hiding his face as he pulled his hood up.

* * *

"Hey Silica." Nadar spoke up, knocking on the girl's door a few hours after their meal. "Klein and I forgot to mention a few things about floor 47. I'd rather we get it all over with now so that we can get started right after waking up."

"Oh, yeah! In fact I was thinking about that just a minute ag-" Nadar could hear the girl starting to walk over to the door, but stopped just as suddenly as she had stopped talking.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Y-Yes! Just give me a second!" Nadar then waited for around thirty seconds, tapping his foot before Silica opened the door while looking down in shame. "I'm… sorry I took so long."

"Let's just get this over with." The axe man said, passing Silica to grab her room's table and move it next to the bed. "Sit down on your bed, this shouldn't take too long."

"H-Hai." The girl responded, walking over to her bed and sitting down, not looking up to Nadar as he moved a chair over and sat down.

He then tapped on the table, getting Silica to look up at him. "Try and keep yourself focused, I'm only going to go over this once." He then pulled out a small closed pot with a green gem at the top. "This here's a mirage sphere, it'll help you familiarize yourself with floor 47." He then tapped on the gem, a projection of floor 47 with all of the paths and towns shown.

"Wow, it's pretty." Silica commented, her eyes glowing with excitement at the item.

"This is the starting town on the floor." Nadar stated, ignoring Silica's excitement while pointing to Floria. He then began to trace a path, a line forming where his finger was. "This path here is the way to get to the Hill of Memories. I expect you to memorize this, because I won't be leading the way."

"You won't?"

"You told Rosalia yourself." Nadar stated, reminding the girl of her words. "You're going to bring Pina back. Klein and I will just act as your escorts. If things get too dicey for you, we'll step in. But if it ends up like that we're dragging you back to town and you'll lose your chance to save your dragon."

"R-Right!"

"Now then, the path doesn't have too many spots where mobs spawn, but considering how rare this item is I wouldn't be surprised if we ran into a rouge group of treasure-"

"Hey!" The sound of Klein's voice shouting came from the door, Nadar springing to action and opening the door immediately. By the time the two were out, Klein was standing in the middle of the hall, having reached for his katana. When he turned to see Nadar, he sighed as he released his katana's hilt. "I walked out and saw an eavesdropper, looks like we might have company tomorrow."

"Eavesdropper?" Silica asked. "But could he actually hear anything? He didn't knock on the door."

"Some players have really high listening skill, which makes them able to hear through a door even without knocking." Nadar answered. "Now you better really take what I said to heart, because I can guarantee now that someone's going to be trying and getting that flower from you."

"Well… they'll have to beat me to get it!" Silica declared, staring at both Nadar and Klein with determination in her eyes.

Nadar gave a single chuckle in response, ruffling her hair as he turned to head back to his room. "Just be sure to memorize the map. Getting to the flower should take priority before preparing to fight someone over it."

"I… I understand."

"And start sleeping with clothes on, it's rude to keep people waiting outside your door."

"E-EEEEHHHH!?"

* * *

"Wow!" Silica beamed as the three all teleported into Floria, seeing the hundreds of flowers that surrounded them. She had on a new set of armor, a bright red that matched Nadar's yet the outfit itself remaining well fit for her. "This place is like a dream!"

"It's a really good spot right?" Klein asked, smiling as Silica ran up to sniff some of the flowers. "This whole floor has hundreds if not thousands of different types of flowers. Everyone calls it the flower garden since we can't seem to find an end to them."

Nadar rolled his eyes at the two, walking up and pulling Silica up to her feet. "As much as I'd "love" to literally stop and sniff the roses, we came here for a reason. We don't want to get off track."

The three all then started to walk out of town, Silica looking slightly down as they were just at the edge of the safe zone. Due to looking down, she didn't notice Nadar stop and bumped into him, taking a step back in surprise as he turned to her. "I want you to take this." He said as he held out a teleport crystal, confusing both Silica and Klein. "As I said, Klein and I aren't helping you, but if things get too dicey that we do have to step in to keep you alive you teleport right out of there. Got it."

"But…"

"You're not going to have a say in this matter." Nadar interrupted, motioning the crystal closer to her. "It'll be easier for us to focus if you aren't there to draw attention away. So just take it so we can go on our way."

"…I understand." Silica relented, taking the crystal from Nadar's grasp.

"Good, now lead the way." The axe man motioned with his head, crossing his arms as the girl put the crystal on her belt.

"O-Okay." Silica said as she started to walk, exiting the safe zone with Nadar and Klein following just behind.

"So, are you going to explain why your doing this or not?" Klein asked, keeping an even pace with Nadar.

"What do you think I'm doing this for?"

"Well, I'd say to get our job done, but you wouldn't have gotten involved with Silica if that were the case." Klein stated, looking over to Nadar as he looked down. "So I'm thrown in a bit of a loop here buddy."

"Well, I can't really answer that question too well myself." Nadar responded, confusing the samurai. "I guess I'm doing it because I can. It beats having to go orange in order to get everything done. Or maybe… something else."

"Huh?" Silica hummed, looking back to the two. "Hey, is there something wr-!" Before any of the three could react, two vines shot out and grabbed Silica's ankles, pulling her up into the air. As she felt herself invert, she instinctively went and kept her skirt up, staring down in fear as she saw the flower monster that had her grabbed. "AHHHHHHH!"

As she began to panic and swing her knife in random directions, Klein has started to unsheathe his sword to help before Nadar put his hand on the end of the hilt. "Don't." He said simply, getting the samurai to relent. "Silica! That monster isn't even strong enough to be a threat. Stop freaking out and kill it!" He shouted, getting the girl to look at him. "You said you'd get stronger, then consider this your first step!"

The girl stared at him in shock for several seconds, before her eyes hardened and she took action. Releasing her skirt, she quickly used her free hand to grab a hold of one of the vines, cutting through it with a single swing. As she freed herself, she started to fall towards the monster, which sent several more vines to try and recapture her. But as she fell, she used a multi-hit skill to knock all of them away, finishing with a stab into the monster's head before killing it.

As she landed on her feet, Klein began to clap, a smile on his face as she turned to them. "Good job Silica! That mob might not have been a strong enemy on this floor, but it's over ten levels above what you normally deal with. Something that's pretty difficult to deal with if you aren't careful."

The words of encouragement gave the girl a smile, but it faltered as she saw Nadar's narrowed look. "You panicked right away and were about to call for help. That was just the first mob here and you almost got this whole quest over before it could start." The axe man said coldly. "You have a lot to do before you can act like you're strong."

The girl didn't say anything in response, simply walking past the two with her head down. "Not cool man." Klein said as he moved to catch up to Silica. "You don't have to shoot down everything she does, a little encouragement can go a long way."

"Not long enough." Nadar muttered, looking to side at a puddle. "I learned that a long time ago."

"Hey Silica." Klein spoke as he caught up to the girl, getting her to look over to him. "I'm sorry about how Nadar responded a minute ago. It honestly is an impressive feat you just did, even if he won't admit it to you."

Silica looked to Klein for a couple of seconds, appearing in thought before she started to speak. "Klein, can I ask you a question?"

"As long as it doesn't get too personal on me, sure."

"Why does Nadar act the way he does?" She asked, slightly catching Klein off guard with the question.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… he always sounds like he's mad or annoyed, at least he has whenever I's heard him talk. But even as he doesn't, I almost feel like he's trying to push others up." She explained, remembering back to the Town of Beginnings. "Back when he first saw me, I was crying in fear as everyone was running to try and level up. No one even took notice to me, I don't blame them because we were all scared. But it made me feel like I was completely alone. That I would die and no one would do anything about it."

She then looked back to Nadar, whose attention wasn't on them while they remained out of earshot for him. "Nadar was the only one who walked up to me. He asked me why I was crying, and made an attempt to try and help me. He called me weak, but he also said that I could get strong here, stronger than I could ever be in the real world." She then looked back to Klein, who was paying a lot of attention to the story. "He was mean, but what he told me pushed me to eventually go out and try to level up. I knew I couldn't just keep crying and even became the first beast tamer in SAO. So I was hoping you'd know why he acted like that."

"Well… I can't say that I know why too much, I don't know the guy a whole lot." Klein admitted, scratching the back of his head. "But I can say that he does hold people he cares about close. For all the stories you'll probably hear about him, he's a pretty caring guy to everyone he knows. Although he doesn't care about many people, he has a rather negative outlook on players outside of himself and a select few. Hell, he hardly speaks to randoms unless it's yelling at them at how big of an idiot they are."

"Then why did he help me?" Silica asked. "Wouldn't he just ignore me like the others."

"Yeah, that's the part that has me running a loop right now." Klein said, shrugging his shoulders. "Guess you must be a special case or something, he usually really hates on lower level players. But then again, he seemed to have quickly gotten attached to Sachi over something."

"Who?"

"Sachi, Nadar's little sister." Klein explained. "They aren't actual siblings, but I swear the two are nearly inseparable when it comes down to it. The two are in a rough spot right now, but I have no doubt the two would do anything for the other. And when they're fighting together I don't think there's a better team up."

"Was she a lower level player?" Silica asked, getting a nod from Klein.

"Yeah, when they met I'm pretty sure Nadar was at least double her level. And I'm pretty sure he was trying to ignore her when he joined the guild. But something… drew them together or something."

"What was it?"

"Hey, I don't dig in to the guy's head like that. He doesn't ever talk about what he thinks, so I can't get past more than his actions." Klein said, motioning his head back to Nadar. "If you want to know why he's doing this, you'll have to ask him yourself. But I wouldn't hold my breath on getting an answer."

Silica then looked back to the axe man, who put his hands in his pockets as he walked, seeming to be deep in thought himself over something. Even then, there wasn't a single clue as to what he could be thinking about, further proving just how difficult it'll be for the girl to get an answer from him.

* * *

"Is that…" Silica half breathed as the three reached the Hill of Memories, seeing a metal pillar at the center of a strange garden.

"You did good Silica." Klein said in response, patting her shoulder in confirmation. "And you don't have to worry, there isn't any traps here. Just you and the flower."

That caused Silica to smile with joy, running up to the pillar to witness the flower begin to bloom. It was a beautiful, delicate flower that stood out from the rest of the flowers, the white and red balancing perfectly in harmony. And when she picked it, it was instantly sent to her inventory, proving that her hard work had paid off.

"Good work." Nadar spoke up, walking up next to Silica. "You did exactly as you said you would. Granted you whined a bit more during the fights then most people, you got all the way here without the help of me or Klein." He then motioned behind him with his thumb, smirking as he continued. "And since you did, Klein and I will take lead on the way back. Considering you don't have any more healing crystals after getting here."

Silica looked away in mild shame, noting that her health was in the yellow. True, she did manage to make it here with her own strength, Nadar was right that it had more than it's fair share of hiccups on the way. Her shame was gone however as Nadar placed a hand on Silica's head, patting it once before turning away. "Don't look like that, you did it in the end and that's what matters."

"Th-Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Nadar said back, opening his menu as he shuffled through. "I'd say you should wait to use that flower. The monsters here are still much higher than Pina, so it's best to do it back in town."

"Right!"

The three then quickly made their way back, the two stronger players making easy work of any monster that had come their way. She had seen it first hand, but it still amazed Silica that there were players strong enough to wipe out monsters on a floor so close to where the Assault Team currently was.

It wasn't long before they made it back to the bridge that lead to town, but before Silica was about to step past it Klein grabbed her shoulder, stopping her from moving. "Klein?"

"I know you're back there. Show yourself." The samurai spoke up, calling out to someone out of sight.

It was only a few seconds until Rosalia walked out from behind a tree, smirking as she looked at the three. "Wow, you managed to detect me, quite impressive."

"Even without one it was obvious you were nearby." Nadar countered, stepping up in front of the two. "That little speech you gave back then was more than a dead giveaway that you sent the eavesdropper to figure out our path. After all, that's the Titan's Hand way, for how pathetic it is anyway. I'd rather have dealt with Laughing Coffin then a bunch of losers like you."

"You can laugh all you like, we're still one of the most feared Orange Guilds." Rosalia responded, getting a chuckle from Nadar.

"Yeah, on the lower levels anyway." Nadar rolled his eyes, not even taking this encounter seriously. "Seriously, the losers down there don't even level up much past skills like fishing, cooking or other everyday living skills. Not actual combat like those above floor 40."

"Ah yes, once again with the snark and remarks. So quick to always lead off with that." Rosalia stated, her speech already giving red flags to Klein. "But I know boys like you, always who act like that to simply distraction others from what they really are. Sad, lonely little boys with no one who cares about them."

"Silica, stay behind me." Klein said, slowly moving to the best way of keeping Silica away from the two in front of them.

"And to top it all off, you play the ruthless hero. A cold warrior with a heart of gold that truly cares for others without any regrets and strength no one could match." The woman continued, her confidence flaring as Nadar's right eye twitched. "I couldn't imagine a better fate for you then to get stuck in here. But even then, with all the stats and potential skills you have, this world will never take the thing that really haunts you in life. The one thing you'll never be able to overcome."

"You're nothing but a **coward.** " The last word she spoke instantly snapped the wire in Nadar's head, his eyes widening in complete anger as his pupils shrunk to as small as they could. The cold fury in his eyes as his whole body began to shake made Klein reach for his katana, nervous since he's never seen so much anger from the boy.

"Me, a coward? Did I hear that correctly?" Nadar asked, his restraint was completely gone, his hood slowly shadowing over his face as his blood began to boil.

"I'm more than aware that's what it takes to pride yourself over a lumbering axe while having no armor what so ever." Rosalia commented, twisting strands of her hair as she felt as if she had all of the cards in her hands. "But even then, just having enough strength to carry it isn't so impressive, as I said you would be wearing armor if you had the strength to." She then glared at Nadar with confidence, placing her spear's end on the ground when she spoke. "We'll be taking the flower from you now."

"Oh really?" Nadar questioned, his voice sounding like a whisper as he leaned forward. "You plan us to give it to you just like that? You must honestly have some better tricks then that?"

"A fair enough assumption, as a one on three would never work out." She then snapped her fingers, and in response the remaining seven of Titan's Hand came out from behind the trees, all with orange cursors over them. "After all, having a numbers advantage is the best way to guarantee victory."

"I couldn't agree more." Nadar stated as he unsheathed his axe, slowly walking towards them. "So lets get this on with so Silica can go bring back her little lizard buddy?"

"Nadar wait!" Silica shouted, about to go and help him before Klein moved his arm out to stop her. "Klein, what are you doing!?"

"Trust me Silica. You don't want to go in there." The samurai warned, a bead of sweat going down his forehead. "Too many of his buttons were pushed. He's dangerous now, too dangerous."

"What are you all waiting for?" Nadar asked, holding a hand out with his fingers curled partially. "Aren't we going to get this show on the road? I wanna see what your advantage can do?"

"Um boss, a thought just occurred." One of Rosalia's goons said, showing signs of nervousness as Nadar dared them. "This guy says he'd rather deal with Laughing Coffin and is only with a party of three, one of which he just met yesterday. Are we sure this is a good idea?"

"Please, he's nothing but talk." Rosalia responded, smirking as Nadar's eyes slowly glowed in the shadow of his hood. "And now that he's broken he's not even that anymore."

"Oh goodie, another visual examination of a stranger that's nothing but negative about me. I've never heard that before in my life." Nadar gritted, his mouth twisting into a toothy grin as his eye twitched rapidly. "I love those, and I love seeing how much weight they have. So how about this? I won't fight back for a straight minute. See how that goes?"

.

.

.

"Boss I think this is a trap."

"Why do you care?" Rosalia asked back. "You're all level 45, I'm pretty sure you are more than capable of handling this. Now kill him!" At her order, all seven of her men rushed out and attacked him, going in a pattern as they all took turns to slash across his body. Not even a single one managed to make him move, but all were attacking with various skills that they had no doubt the damage they were causing.

Seeing Nadar not even fight back, Silica started to reach for her dagger, shaking at the thought of fighting killers. But before she could, Klein shook his head no, motioning to Nadar's health bar. And what she saw completely shocked her.

"Man, only a minute of straight attacking?" Nadar asked, looking around him to take note of how exhausted the seven players were. "Really should work on your endurance, might do better in the long run."

"What are you idiots doing?" Rosalia demanded. "Quit fooling around and finish him!"

"We threw everything we had at him!" A player shouted. "I don't even know how he's still standing!"

"Why? Well it goes back to what your boss said." Nadar spoke up, turning to Rosalia with utter malice. "You see, GIRLIE! You may think you have every single advantage. But you forgot to do your research. You may have a seven to one advantage, but I-" He then revealed his health bar to the others, revealing that he had barely taken any damage from the attack. "I have a 35 number advantage. My health is at such a high level, you could attack me for a whole hour and it wouldn't matter to me."

"That's impossible."

"No really, it's the reason I don't like leveling MMOs actually." Nadar countered. "Get to a high enough level and the lower level peasants can't even hold an ash to you. I mean, I'm just missing a suit of self-healing armor and I'd be basically one of the most badass characters in fiction ever. I could fight against a boss and square up with the amount of strength and health I have."

"But, I have good news for all of you." He continued, pulling out a warp crystal. "You see, I can be a very reasonable guy. Just throw your asses into jail on the other side of this gate here and I won't go Berserk on your ass. And believe me, with my class I can more than do that."

"Nadar's a Marauder." Klein explained, slowly walking up to the Orange Guild as he unsheathed his sword. "It's a class that no one yet has used because of the ridiculous health and strength stats required to earn the first skill in it. And with the required weapon being an axe, there are probably only one or two others aside from him."

"You see, I'm Aincrad's Executioner, so an appearance matters to me." Nadar revealed, getting all of the orange players to step back in fear. "And nothing's more terrifying then a headsman coming for your ass with a class that's all about tanking and giving back. I've killed criminals since floor 10, and I'm more than willing to do that right now if you don't surrender."

"Well, if you so much as hurt me, you'll go orange!" Rosalia shouted, getting into a ready stance. "And even if you're the executioner, the Assault Team would never forgive you for-!" She was then left in shock as Nadar threw his axe, missing her but hitting her spear. It didn't even register the weapon as it cut right through it, shattering it into non-existence.

"That was meant to hit you." Nadar warned, slowly walking towards her with his enraged glare. "I've been orange longer than anyone in this game, far longer before you even knew what it took to go orange. So trust me, I'll kill you, and I'll do it without hesitation. To hell with what the Six Flag's leader wants, I'll gladly kill you for the lives you ended. Clear?" Rosalia couldn't even respond, shaken by the pure malice coming from Nadar's voice.

"Klein." He spoke up as he used the warp crystal and opened a gate. "Take them to jail. If I stay near them any longer I'm going to rip them apart."

"Uh, yeah. Sure thing buddy." Klein responded. "Come on, move!" He shouted, motioning the players to the gate. "But seriously, I don't know how much longer he'll hold so I'd go now before he really snaps."

* * *

"Are you okay?" Nadar asked, he and Silica sitting in an inn room.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The girl responded.

"Good." Nadar breathed out, pinching between his eyes with his fingers before swiping them away. "I couldn't really tell what I was doing there. I honestly would've believed I hurt you or Klein in my rage."

That caused the girl to shake her head, giving Nadar a smile as she spoke. "I don't believe you would hurt me or Klein. You're too kind to do that."

"Kind? That's certainly not a word I hear used to describe me." Nadar chuckled.

Silica gave her own laugh, happy to see that Nadar was calmed down at this point. But as her face seldom, she felt she had to ask one thing before the two likely parted ways. "Nadar, why did you help me?"

"Hmm?"

"Klein told me that you care for people, but then act horrible to everyone else." Silica explained, folding her hands on her lap as she looked down. "I just… I don't get why you'd be helping me. Both back then when we got trapped and now with Pina."

Nadar looked down in response, taking a deep breath at her question. "Well, there's not a whole lot to it. But I guess… it's because I see a bit of me in you." That caused Silica to look at him, confusion plastered on her face. "I'm not going to explain it, but you remind me of myself in a few ways. And I guess that makes me want to help you."

"So you did it because you wanted to help me grow like you did?" Silica asked, getting surprised as Nadar started to rub her head with his hand.

"Like me? God no, there's enough psychopaths in this world, and you're too cute for that." He chuckled. "No… helping you feels like I'm returning the favor."

"Returning the favor?"

"To an old friend who tried to help me." He explained, avoiding going into detail. "They tried and in a way failed, so I'm doing my best to help people like you. My Sis was like that, and I guess that's why I sort of adopted her as a little sister. And you…" Nadar paused, looking at Silica. "I think I see that in you as well."

"You see me… as a little sister?" Silica asked.

"Yeah." Nadar answered. "I guess I sort of do."

"W-Well you're like a big brother to me!" Silica said, catching Nadar off guard. "You don't baby me like everyone else, but you also went out of your way to help me. And even pushed me to get up and do something from the very beginning." She then turned her whole body to him, clasping his hand between hers. "And I still want to get stronger!"

"Hold up, you're not asking if-"

"I want to come with you."

' _Yep she is.'_ Nadar thought as he sighed.

"Silica, I'm on the Assault team."

"I know."

"Which is dangerous."

"I know."

"And that means you yourself would be put in danger if you-"

"I want to help you!" Silica shouted. "You've helped me so much and I… I know you need help just as much. You're in a guild, but that doesn't mean you can't accept more help. So please, let me join you."

Nadar then sighed as he put a hand on his forehead. "I can't believe I'm even thinking about this. Why not revive your pet first and then we'll talk."

"Okay."

"But I'm warning you now, I am not easy to convince."

* * *

"Nadar… who's that?" Kirito asked, being the one that opened the door when he heard knocking.

"Silica." Nadar answered, appearing as straight faced as he could. Next to him was Silica and her pet Pina, a small blue dragon that was currently resting on the girl's head as she smiled.

"Okay." Kirito nodded. "And, why is she here? With our emblem? In our party?"

"I lost a battle of will." The axe man said simply, walking past Kirito into the house.

"Okay… that answered nothing."


	9. Middle Ground

"This isn't working!" Kirito shouted as he jumped back, dodging an attack from the field boss Geocrawler. Currently, the Assault Team had hit a roadblock, having difficulty trying to defeat the Geocrawler to get to the floor dungeon. The giant metal centipede like beast was impossibly durable, tanking hits from several heavy hitters among the frontlines without even being phased. It's also the first field boss they had to retreat from prior, having no good enough attack plan to defeat it.

Asuna, who was in command of dealing with the floor, was struggling to think of a plan while the paladins were trying to hold the Geocrawler back. "I don't get it, the bait should be distracting it. Everything else on this floor stops its attack when the meat is within its agro range."

"Well clearly not this one!" Nadar chimed in, swinging his axe and managing to land a solid blow between its armor, knocking it to the side away from the paladins. "Honestly, why did you think a trick that works on simple mobs would work on a field boss? Rather noobish if you ask me."

"Well no one did ask you." Asuna muttered under her breath, trying to calm her nerves. "Okay, the bait isn't working, we need to fall back and rethink our approach." She then looked to Kudzu, who was covering for a Holy Dragon Alliance lancer. "Kudzu! The plan has failed, we're pulling back!"

"Understood Lightning Flash!" The paladin responded. "Men, we're moving out, we'll cover the retreat for the others."

"Sir, it's coming for another charge!" A lancer called out, shocking everyone as they turned to see the boss rush them. Its eyes began to glow as a signal to the incoming attack, the paladins scrambling in an attempt to prepare themselves for the disastrous attack. The charge was the move that had made them retreat back then in the first place, having killed six players in one fell swoop.

But before the boss was about to reach them, Nadar ran past the paladins right at it. When it got close, he activated a high strength skill and slam the head of the axe right into the beast's head. The resulting force caused wind to blast out everywhere, several players having to shield their faces. But even then, he was quickly losing ground, steadily getting pushed back to the paladins while also losing health.

He grunted under the pressure, trying to stop the boss while keeping note of his health. When he had started to go into the yellow, his axe glowed again, as if activating another skill. "RAAH!" Pulling his axe down, Nadar struck the ground with enough force to cause a small shockwave, a simple skill most axe wielders have. But with his incredible strength stat the shockwave was enough to stop the Geocrawler's attack. As he finished through the attack, he turned back to the rest of the Assault Team, already with a teleport crystal out. "I took care of the crawler for now, but I'd say we overstayed our welcome."

Knowing that Nadar only bought them a few seconds, the entire group pulled out their equipped teleport crystals. One by one the entire group was teleporting out, knowing that if they mass teleported without a warp crystal a bug could occur. As the last of the support were gone, the Geocrawler recovered from Nadar's stun and used one of its countless legs to hit him, knocking him back.

Nadar in response flipped back, managing to land on his feet while sliding back. He'd dig his feet and left hand in, stopping himself just behind the paladins as they teleported out. Nadar cursed under his breath as he saw his crystal a few feet away from him, the Geocrawler raising its head to stare at him as he remained as the last player.

He'd then stand to his full height, staring down the boss while placing both his hands back on his axe. His health had dipped to just below half, most of it being taken out from blocking the boss' charge attack. And when he saw the Geocrawler getting ready to rush him, he quickly took off to his right, causing it to turn its head to follow.

" _Kree!"_

"Perfect timing!" Nadar shouted as he heard a high-pitched screech, recognizing Pina as it flew for his teleport crystal. The dragon's screech caught the Geocrawler's attention, but was cut off as Nadar threw his axe, missing but entering its agro once more. "Well, the axe is gone now, that much is done." He'd say to himself as he saw the axe fall into a pond, likely shattering due to the surrounding area's acidic water. "Kinda a shame though, I really liked that axe."

His attention then was brought back to the Geocrawler, narrowly dodging it as it lunged at him. "Oh you are not going to hit me after-gah!" Another leg managed to hit his gut, sending him back further and rolling on the ground before stopping. His eyes spun for a second before he refocused, glaring at the boss with rage. "Oh I am so going to kill you next time." As he said that, Pina landed on his shoulder, dropping the crystal in his hand, both teleporting the moment after he caught it.

The moment he entered the town, he saw his health instantly go back up to 100%, letting him take a breath of relief. He then smiled slightly, scratching the side of Pina's face, getting between the feathers like the dragon liked. "Thanks Pina, perfect timing as always huh?"

"Kree! Kree!' The feathered dragon chirped, rubbing its cheek closer to his finger as he scratched it. After they had recruited Silica into the Moonlit Black Cats, the guild had discovered that the dragon could bond with the others, something even the info brokers hadn't learned yet. And while Silica was the only one able to give the dragon orders, it could still follow and assist guild members, albeit not to the sacrificial level it would for its master.

"Nadar!' Kirito called out as he approached the player, getting both his and Pina's attention. "You were a few seconds behind us, what happened?"

"Dropped my crystal after I got hit. Pina here got it back before I had to fight it one on one." Nadar explained. "Remind me to find Agil later, I need a new axe."

"What happened to your other one?"

"If history serves as a guide, I threw it at the Geocrawler." Nadar answered simply, getting a half lidded stare from the Black Swordsman.

"You don't learn, do you?"

"Only when I'm not in the zone."

* * *

"Lure it to the village, that's how we'll deal with it." Asuna said as he put her hand down on a map. After the most recent failure at taking out the Geocrawler, the Assault Team had to completely rethink their strategy, leading Asuna to her latest plan.

"Wait hold up!" Kirito interjected, stepping up. "If we do that, it'll go after the villagers."

"Exactly." Asuna stated. "And while the boss is busy picking off NPCs, we can hit it from behind."

"Sorry, but I can't go through with that plan." Kirito responded, shaking his head as he did. "The Moonlit Black Cats won't take part in this if you try to let the NPCs die. It isn't right."

"Considering your current numbers, it doesn't matter much." Asuna countered. "In fact, it's thanks to your latest entry that two of the Assault Team's best are unavailable for this. A boss that we could clearly use them in."

"Don't go blaming Silica for your piss poor plan." Nadar spoke up, walking past his leader as he did while Pina rested on his head. "She's made good progress in just a month. But she's only at level 60, we won't pull her up to the front lines until she's at minimum level 75. And unlike you, Sachi and Hachiman actually have the foresight to know how much more useful having Silica would be. Which is the very reason they volunteered to help her level."

"Whatever." Asuna breathed out, putting her hand to her forehead as she rubbed her temples. "Well, if Kirito and the rest aren't helping, we're going to be relying on you getting a good heavy attack in Nadar. You might get drawn into the agro, but with your health you're-"

"Oh I'm not helping." Nadar interrupted, surprising everyone. "Boss said the Moonlit Black Cats wouldn't help if you try baiting NPCs. And last time I checked, I'm a part of mentioned guild. So, either come up with a new plan, or saw buh-bye to your heaviest hitter."

"Why are you of all people backing out?"

"Because I have principal." Nadar said, crossing his arms as he stared down the vice-commander. "Not to mention some of the NPCs in the village are pretty generous, I'm not someone to just let them get killed."

"Oh but you'll kill a player without blinking."

"If I kill a player, they had it coming." Nadar responded, his voice cold. "I kill the scum of this game that don't deserve to make it out. I don't get why I have to remind you this, it is the KoB that gives me all of my missions."

"We send you to apprehend criminals, not to kill them."

"If you wanted them alive, you wouldn't go to me." Nadar then rubbed his eyes, starting to get annoyed by the conversation. "Look, we're getting off topic. Your plan is shit and I don't have a doubt it will fail like your previous two."

"I don't think you get it, I'm the one who was put in charge for clearing this floor. And as a part of the Assault Team and a direct contact for the Knights of the Blood Oath, you will follow my orders."

"Or, we could settle this in a way more fitting to my style." Nadar stated, grinning as he motioned his shoulder behind him. "Let's have a duel, right here and right now. Winner gets to decide the next plan for the Geocrawler."

The whole room, despite being filled by nearly sixty players, was completely dead silent at Nadar's solution to the disagreement. True, Nadar and Asuna were always the expected arguers in the team, but they've never gone to the extent to challenge the other to a fight. Not to mention how the two are some of the top players in the entire Assault Team, both sitting somewhere in the top 5 along with Heathcliff, Hachiman and Kirito. While the commander was widely accepted as the number 1 player, the other four were all heavily lead up to debate, and it seems like a potential answer could be brought on the two's stance.

And the challenge was clearly accepted, given Asuna's glare at the executioner. "Fine, but once this is done there won't be any debates on the plan. Sound fair?"

Asuna's acceptance caused Nadar to grin, turning as he started to walk into the open area. "Sure thing, it's a deal."

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Agil asked, both his and Nadar's trade menu's open. "I mean, I don't doubt you're one of the best, but Asuna's up there as well. Not to mention her speed advantage over you."

"It's all a matter of finishing it in one attack." Nadar responded. "I'll take your gauntlets, if that's alright with you."

"Um, you sure you don't want an axe or something? They aren't as heavy as you're used to but-!" Agil's eyes widened in shock as Nadar put ten thousand col into the trade, easily way more then even he'd try to get from him.

"Just the gauntlets, I don't want one of your toothpick axes cramping my style for this." Nadar smirked, seeing Agil instantly unequipped his gauntlets and put them into the trade, both accepting it the moment after. Nadar then put both the gauntlets on, patting Pina's head to wake the dragon. "Hey girl, why don't you go to Kirito for a bit? I got something important to do real quick."

" _Kree! Kree!"_ Pina then took off and flew to the Black Swordsman, landing on his shoulder as he walked up to Nadar.

"So, I'm guessing you have some big plan ready?" He asked, getting a smirk in return from Nadar.

"Don't I always?"

"No, that's why I'm asking."

"Fair enough." Nadar sighed as the three turned to walk to where Nadar's fight would be. "So we're going to be fighting in a Crit-Attack match." Nadar stated. "Which means I just have to deal a good enough blow to her before one of hers can. And considering she knows she won't get lucky with a speed skill, I figure she's going to try and end it in one hit. So all I have to do is block that and hit back before she can retreat."

"Wouldn't having a weapon be a better choice then?" Agil questioned. "I don't agree with you two fighting, but I feel like you actually have an idea in dealing with the Geocrawler. Honestly it'd probably of been easier to put it to a among squad leaders."

"Oh go, and let it be known that we let someone like Schmitt has a choice among us?" Nadar scoffed. "We'd lose a lot of credibility if we even let him tie his shoe, let alone vote Aincrad's Executioner to make a plan. Let's face it, I'd lose the popular vote anyways, everyone thinks I have fifty ways of killing them."

"Well, I see you there." Agil commented, sighing as they were close to reaching the small plaza where Nadar and Asuna would duel. "But that doesn't explain why you don't want a weapon."

"Can't let Asuna get too much of a speed advantage." He answered simply, before both his and Kirito's eyes widened in shock when they entered the plaza. There was a crowd, at least forty civilian players standing among the Assault Team players. There was a small gap in the crowd where Nadar could walk in, but it was still surprising how packed the place is. "Wow there's… a lot of people here."

"Two of the top players fighting each other? Who would have guessed?" Agil spoke rhetorically, chuckling as he walked past Nadar and Kirito. "Try not to get embarrassed too bad buddy. You're one of my known clients and it'll look bad if you lose a fight you asked for."

"I'm going to go watch from the middle." Kirito spoke, patting Nadar's shoulder as he moved through the group. "Good luck buddy! Pina and I will be cheering for you!"

" _Kree!"_

"Oh lovely." Nadar rolled his eyes, not believing just how big of a deal this fight was going to be made. As he was about to step up, he was stopped as he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Well now, you seem to have got yourself into a tight spot huh?" Turning, Nadar saw Argo walking up to him. The small info breaker was wearing her usual brown and yellow getup, her once ragged hood now a clean and slick black with a shawl around her shoulders. "I get a message to come discreetly from you, and you go and cause a whole ruckus a' trouble."

"Argo, you're here early." Nadar commented, taking note to the whiskered player.

"Well it's not every day two of the top tier players duke it out. I wanted to see how much I could get from people on info on the two of you. See where they should make their bids."

"Seriously?"

"Wanna know who's currently got the most bids on winning?"

"Save it for after this." Nadar said, heading for the crowd as he readied himself. "Just be ready to move out once we're done here, got it."

"It's Asuna!" Argo added before Nadar made it to the center, his eye twitching in irritation over the notion.

The fighting area was nothing too fancy, just a thirty by thirty yard square. And while they were just a few steps down from the crowd, it leads everyone to having a perfect view of the match. Anyone could see as long as they kept their spot. When Nadar reached the bottom of his steps, Asuna started to walk from her end, both approaching each other until they were ten feet apart.

"So, which match type is it?" Asuna asked, ready to get this over with and continue on with planning.

"It'll be a Crit-attack match." Nadar responded, opening his menu and sending the vice-commander a duel request. When she accepted the timer appeared above them, sixty seconds slowly counting down as they got into their stances.

As she slowly unsheathed her rapier, Asuna couldn't help but wonder why Nadar didn't spend his time getting a weapon, taking note that the only change to his equipment being the gauntlets. _'What is he up to? Does he think he'll be able to get me with his Hendox style?'_

Hendox style was a special unarmed form of combat that required a high level of Dexterity and at least 20 Agility points. It's found in a refreshing quest on floor 38, a simple yet testing challenge given the miniboss that has to be defeated to earn the skill. Although next to no one bothers with it, as it would be suicide to go into a fight without a weapon. Nadar and a rough hundred others have earned the skill, entertaining the idea at a hand-to-hand style that had a wider variety of skills available.

And it was when the timer hit 30 seconds did Asuna remember the one big perk to using Hendox: it's broken crit strikes. True, using a weapon will always be the best combat method, but the Hendox style has at least a dozen skills that cause a crit on the first hit. It doesn't do much, but it's all he'd need to do to win the duel. _'So that's your angle.'_ Asuna thought as she narrowed her eyes at Nadar, the executioner smirking as he slightly spread his knees further.

' _She knows. Good.'_

When the timer hit 0, the fight went from stagnant to 100 instantly, with Asuna activating a skill and blitzing right at Nadar. Her speed was near blinding, only a few of the Assault Team being able to follow her as she aimed her rapier right for his chest. _'If you have the higher chance of getting a critical, I won't give you the chance of a fight and end it in one hit!'_ She thought as she was just in front of Nadar, her rapier glowing bright as it was a foot away from him.

When she got close enough to see it, Asuna was confused at the sight of Nadar smirking, not even showing a sign of shock at her speed. And before any of the players could believe it, Nadar was able to just avoid the rapier with nothing but a small scratch on his arm. His fast movement surprised Asuna, quickly turning and slashing her rapier in reaction to him getting behind her.

Nadar crossed his arms and blocked the attack, getting pushed back a few feet before he stopped himself. The whole crowd was silent as they tried to put together what had just happened. Nadar, the player with the highest health and power stats, just maneuvered around one of the highest Agility players, the only competition Asuna could have was Hachiman. No one could believe a player who had only Strength based skills could even manage to keep up with THE Lightning Flash.

"N-No way…" A paladin for the Holy Dragon Alliance gasped, shock plastered on his face. "How was Nadar able to dodge Asuna's piercer attack?"

"Only Hachiman's ever managed to get out of the way of that attack in time." Kudzu said with wide eyes, seeing the vice-commander miss her best chance at ending the duel in one hit. Her one crit move was dodged and now she'd be in for an actual fight. "How could one of the slowest players dodge it?"

"You guys really seem to forget the important detail behind Nadar." Kirito spoke up to the shocked players, taking their attention off the fight as Nadar charged at Asuna. "The guy doesn't wear any armor, so even without any Agility points he'd be able to move slightly above the average person IRL with his current level. The only reason he's so slow is because his axe weighs almost a ton."

"Um Kirito, that's neat and all, but that doesn't explain how he managed to dodge ASUNA of all people!" Klein shouted, his shout being enhanced as Asuna's rapier was blocked by Nadar's fist. Under most circumstances, a player would be sure to avoid taking any damage in a duel. However Nadar had no need for the worry, his health being so high that Asuna wouldn't be able to do any attack too threatening to him. A Crit-attack duel would only end if you land a critical or fall into the red, neither of which Asuna would be able to do any time soon.

"That's right, we didn't tell you." Kirito chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. "Back when we joined the Black Cats, Nadar eventually caved into me and Hachiman and boosted his Agility by a good amount. Without a weapon weighing him down he's actually a decent speed. He can't beat Asuna in raw speed, but he can keep up enough to avoid her crit attacks."

"So that means…" Kudzu stuttered as he turned back to Asuna and Nadar, Seeing Nadar parry her latest attack with his forearm.

"Asuna's going to have to get his health into the red." Kirito finished, just as the executioner broke Asuna's guard, preparing an uppercut on her. "But at the same time, Nadar's going to have to land a hit on her." Even with her guard broke, Asuna was able to easily maneuver around Nadar, slashing behind her in an attempt to hit his back.

Nadar in return held his hand out, blocking the attack with his palm without even recoiling. "Not as easy as expected, is it Madam Flash?"

"That's why you didn't get an axe." Asuna responded as she took a few steps back. "You knew you wouldn't stand a chance if you had gotten one more comfortable."

"Well I wouldn't say I wouldn't stand a chance, but yeah you'd definitely would have me beat in speed without question." He then cracked his knuckles as he readied himself, his fists glowing as he prepared a skill. "But this'll be a lot more fun for the both of us."

"This isn't a game!" Asuna shouted back as she rushed towards Nadar, using a barrage skill, leading to Nadar to protect his chest and head. While the skill was faster than anyone could follow, they had nearly a 0 chance to get a critical. SO as long as Nadar kept blocking he wouldn't have to worry about losing.

When the attack finished, Nadar attempted to punch Asuna, missing as she jumped back. However thanks to the angle of her jump, Nadar struck the side of her rapier and sent it to the ground clattering. Without her weapon, Asuna would be put at a horrible disadvantage. She had a problem dealing too much damage to Nadar as it was, she would do next to nothing without her rapier.

Taking a look at his health, Asuna bit her tongue in annoyance as she saw him well in the green, likely sitting around 89%. _'Damn his Thick Blood.'_ She thought as she recalled the Marauder passive skill Nadar had equipped. Thick Blood was a skill that decreased the damage that a player's sword skills would deal, making it one of the only abilities that only benefit during PvP.

"What's the matter Flashy?' Nadar questioned as he ran at Asuna, his skill still active. He brought down his fist at her, missing as she dodged to the side and ducked, avoiding the kick he sent out. She'd then kick at his other leg, knocking him down and stunning him briefly. She'd try to move for her rapier, but was stopped as Nadar spun on his back and tripped her with his foot, catching onto the heel of her KoB uniform.

The two then got up nearly simultaneously, the vice-commander giving her opponent while the executioner grinned. "What's with the look? Aren't you enjoying the friendly little bout we're having? All's fun in games after all."

"When will you realize that this isn't something we should be enjoying!?" Asuna demanded as Nadar approached her, dodging two of his attacks before delivering her own punch to his gut. As expected it didn't cause him to stagger, forcing her to back up when he threw two more punches. Even with her rapier his poise would be too great to stagger him for more than a second. And if this fight ended up being determined by whoever could outlast the other she'd lose indefinitely.

She had to get her rapier and end it in her next strike. But that also meant she had to stun Nadar long enough to get to the weapon without him hitting her from behind.

Steeling herself, she ducked under one of Nadar's next punches and closed her eyes, feeling ashamed in what she was about to do. "Kirito and Sachi have kissed!" She could feel the burst of wind go past her hair as Nadar stopped his fist, opening her eyes to see his knuckles just an inch from her face.

"…what…?" Nadar asked silently, turning to Kirito. "You did… what?"

"Wait hold up Nadar, we didn't-"

"When did this happen!?" Nadar shouted with anger, his attention no longer on the fight.

"Nadar, you don't understand! There's more to it than-!" Kirito's eyes widened in shock as he saw Asuna go for her rapier, picking it up while Nadar was still turned to him. "Nadar, behind you!"

By the time Nadar turned around, Asuna was already through the motion of her pierce attack, clearing the distance in almost no time. But when the sword had come within range, Nadar shot his palm out, the blade impaling through and heading for his head. Just as the tip of the blade was about to hit him, Nadar's fist reached the hilt and clamped down hard, stopping it to feel the wind from the move.

Everyone stared in shock at the move, being extremely risky given the duel type. If you're stabbed by a sword anywhere in the body no matter how insignificant, there was a chance for a critical attack to occur. Unfortunately for Asuna, RNG was against her and her move didn't register for a crit, leaving her in Nadar's hold.

His hand shook with what everyone perceived as rage as he kept the blade back, his spare fist glowing as he activated another skill. "Well then, looks like someone was willing to get dirty." He then smirked as he pulled her towards him, rearing his fist before striking her across her face. "It's about damn time!" As she fell onto her butt, a banner appeared over the arena, signaling Nadar as the winner. He had hardly done enough damage to even get her into the yellow, but a crit was a crit.

And as the crowd began to cheer at excitement over the battle, Asuna remained sitting on the ground, looking down as she stayed on the ground. She had lost the duel, even when she went so far as to distract Nadar with something extremely personal to him. Using the dirty trick was bad enough, it felt even worse that it had been for nothing in the end.

She was then surprised as Nadar held his hand down to her, a genuine smile on his face as he offered help. "Hey, it was a good fight. You got some pretty good licks in there."

"But I tried to cheat." Asuna responded, turning her gaze back down away from Nadar. "I attempted to use the affairs of people close to you to win. Whether I won or lost it was still cheating in the end."

"There's no such thing as cheating in a fight." Nadar said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her up to her feet. She was surprised by how despite the forceful pull, he was strangely gentle in his grip, nowhere near enough force to even be uncomfortable. "When you fight, you use all of your tools to your advantage to win. That's the whole point of a fight, winning at the end of the day. Whether it's in here or IRL, winning will be the same."

When Asuna stared at him in confusion, Nadar released her wrist and kicked her rapier up, catching it by the blade. "You've always been quick to separate this world and the real world, but you also say that this isn't a game." He then handed the hilt to her, releasing it once she had a hold of the hilt. "Reality is a difficult thing to grasp, no one often likes facing it when it gets bad. But the reality right now is we're in this game, and that THIS is our world right now."

"I know I won't change your mind just with a simple explanation, no belief you hold to is worth it if you give in so easily. And forcing someone to believe what you think does nothing but create further separation." He then held his hand out to her, offering a handshake to her. "But let's put aside our differences when it comes to bosses and take in everyone's ideas before shooting them down. It'd look bad if we had a duel every time we disagreed."

"…Fine." It looked almost painful for Asuna, but she accepted his hand and the two shook, agreeing to the terms before letting go. "So then… boss… what's your brilliant plan for the Geocrawler?"

"Ah yes, my plan. Well you see it's a very delicate matter, one of which allows me to settle something with someone who used my competitiveness and anger to earn some col." He then turned to the crowd, his right eye twitching as he began to shout. "ARGO! YOU GET YOUR INFO STEALING ASS OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!" Everyone jumped at the boom of his voice, the volume a complete 180 from how he was just acting.

"Loosen ye' hood buddy, I coming." Argo responded, maneuvering through the crowd before jumping down to the arena. She'd then casually walk over to Nadar with a smirk on her face, not even nervous at the glare he was giving her. "Good fight there, ye' got me more than some col in my pocket now."

"Aside from you using me as a cash grab today, did you get what I asked for?" He asked, crossing his arms as he looked down to the info broker, the height difference almost comical.

Argo gave a grin in response, pulling a paper out from her satchel. "The quest you gave me had exactly what I was looking for. Although not in the form you were probably expecting."

Argo handed the paper to Nadar, who took it and saw the item name pop up. ""Song of the Silent" this is what you got? Some stupid song with a clearly RNGed name? There wasn't anything else?"

"Nope, but that's exactly the item I had heard about." Argo responded. "There was always a rumor among the NPCs at the first town that there was an ancient treasure at the southwest forest dungeon. Something so power that it could subdue the Geocrawler. Sure, an awesome spear or sword would've been cooler, but a song on a flute that knocks out a boss and leaves it completely open? I'd say that's as good as any weapon out there."

"Wait, you sent Argo ahead of time?" Asuna questioned, looking to Nadar in confusion. "Were you… planning on dueling me? And did you expect me to agree and even win?"

"You have the "Holier Than Thou'" attitude, it's pretty easy to predict you." Nadar said as he opened his trade menu, placing down 500,000 col into it. Argo's menu then came up, and she more than gladly accepted the money. Normally she wouldn't have given the item or info to someone before getting paid, but Nadar was her best client. She learned that when he paid her 1,000,000 to find out anything about the Christmas event earlier that year. "Honestly the duel was to just stall you until Argo got here, winning's just an added bonus."

"W-W-W-What?" Asuna stuttered, staring at Nadar with wide eyes as he responded so casually. "So you used my pride as something of a tool, knowing that I wouldn't risk putting you in command?"

"Well you aren't exactly the vice commander for your brains." Nadar then winked at Asuna before turning around, crossing his arms behind his head as he started to walk away. "But don't worry, we can have it say in the newspaper than you had 10% to do with the plan. It'd only be fair since I had to bank on your ego."

"Oh I am not being told I have an ego by the guy who charged head first into a guild of 40 player killers expecting to win flawlessly!" Asuna argued as she jogged after him. "And I will not settle with only 10%, that makes it look like I did nothing!"

"Well your plans did bomb so, kinda makes sense."

"Hey Nadar, hold on a second!" Argo shouted as she ran after Nadar, stopping the two. "Where's the axe? Our deal was 250,000 col plus the stats on your axe after it got upgraded. I'll gladly take the extra 250,000 ye' gave, but where's the stats?"

"Oh about that." Nadar breathed in mock apology, shrugging his shoulders. "See the boss knocked the axe out of my hands during our retreat and it fell into one of the acid pits. So I'm sorry but it looks like I can't give you those stats."

"You… you got rid of it on purpose didn't ye'!"

"That is slander and I refuse to stand for such a clear hit on my name and reputation." Nadar responded, crossing his arms as he did. "I have compensated you with the extra col as a sign of good will and apology to losing the axe, something far kinder than I had to. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a plan to follow through."

"This ain't over Nadar!" Argo shouted as Nadar started to walk away, Asuna following while the info broker ranted. "I'll get ye' back for this! I'll get your next weapon stats, then ye'll see!"

"You got rid of your axe on purpose, didn't you?" Asuna asked, getting a sinister chuckle from the executioner.

"Threw the thing right at the boss." Nadar stated, grinning wide. "The moment I threw it was a guarantee that something wrong would happen to it. It was only a matter of what stupid thing would happen first."

"And now that it's gone?"

"Eh, I'll figure something out. I always do."


	10. Awkward Table Talk

"Unbelievable." Asuna sighed as she walked out of the Assault Team's main fort on floor 59. Just a bit out of town was a series of trees, all separated by the path that connected every building to the areas outside. And at the bottom of one of those trees, most of the Moonlit Black Cats slept. Kirito, Sachi and Silica all lay in the grass, resting peacefully while Pina rested on Silica.

As she started to walk towards the guild, Asuna couldn't help but note that Nadar wasn't present. The only time the axe man isn't around the guild is when they kick him out for attacking Kirito. But here, currently out and just a few days before the next planned boss raid, he wasn't even within eyesight of them. It was strange, and it left a strange feeling in the girl's stomach.

Once she stepped under the tree, Pina raised her head to look at the rapier user before craning her head up a bit more to the tree. The action confused Asuna, but she was caught off guard as she felt something tap her shoulder from above. As she reached for her rapier, a metal end smacked her hand down, getting her to look up and see none other than Nadar, sitting on a branch with his back against the tree. "Shh, the kids are sleeping."

"And that's the problem here." Asuna responded, calming herself as she stared up to the axe man. A day after he lost his axe, he had managed to find a decent replacement to his previous. Although it wasn't as powerful, heavy or big, the red single sided axe was more than suitable to his stats. "We're all leveling as hard as we can for this next boss, and all you four are doing is napping on the job."

"Um, what job?" Nadar asked. "We've done more than enough leveling for this week, most of us have earned a rest. Not to mention how much extra time we've put in to get Silica finally up to where she is now." He added, smiling as he let his eyes dart to the sleeping girl. "Silica's almost caught up to Sachi, which was way better than I was expecting from her. She's come a long way, and out of everyone on this Assault Team the Moonlit Black Cats can sacrifice an hour to take a nap."

"And every hour you spend napping, we lose another day out in the real world." Asuna countered, glaring up to Nadar. "We may have agreed to start working together more, but this is something I know you don't even think about. We're trapped in this game, and the longer we remain here to less time we have with our family."

"And that's where I'd disagree completely." Nadar shifted, turning to rest on his side while looking down to her. "Family is much more than worthless blood ties, and living isn't as simple as being in game or IRL. Even though we may be stuck in here, that doesn't mean we aren't living. In here, in SAO, we're living a completely different life. We're alive, breathing, and going about our time in the way WE choose. In all honesty, I've felt more alive in here than I did back in the real world."

"And while that may be akin to my quick descent into insanity, everyone else in the Black Cats feel similarly." Nadar continued, his gaze going over his guildmates. "Silica and Sachi were both terrified coming in here, they thought they would die and let that fear consume them. It wasn't until they opened their eyes to the lives they could have here that they began to understand what it means to be in virtual reality."

""There is little separating reality and VR, but the greatest factor is what you believe."" Nadar quoted. "Kirito told me that once, and I understood it almost right away. I believe that even Aincrad is real, and that the air we breath, the food we eat, even the grass your standing on, is as real as it would be outside of here." He then shifted back to lie on his back, closing his eyes and sighing. "We can be whoever we want in this world, and in doing so it becomes real. No one knows who we were IRL, so how we act now is what's reality. And I'm acting like someone who really needs a nap."

Asuna then watched as Nadar took little time to fall asleep, his breathing evening out to match that of the others. He was completely comfortable, and it honestly was surprising how easily he could just fall asleep. He didn't show the slightest signs of exhaustion, but didn't show any trouble in going to sleep.

Although, she couldn't deny that the sun's warmth through the leaves felt really nice. And the breeze made the temperature feel like it was just right too. Not to mention how calm and at peace the four were, the look feeling most foreign on Nadar above all the others.

' _Well… what's a few minutes going to do?'_

* * *

"Mmmmm." Nadar moaned as his eyes slowly opened, a yawn escaping his lips as he stretched out. "Ahhhhhh, that was a nice nap. I see why Kirito really enjoys these."

"Apparently you enjoyed it more than I did." Kirito smirked, surprising Nadar as he saw the Black Swordsman sitting on the stonewall a few feet away. "You've been out for a lot longer than the rest of us, I was beginning to think you started lagging."

"Ah shut up you ass." Nadar responded, twisting his body to land on the ground with his feet.

"Careful!" Kirito whisper yelled, confusing Nadar. "You almost landed on Asuna! Do you know how pissed she would have been if you did?"

"What?" Nadar questioned, looking down and jumping back in shock at what he saw. Asuna, passed out and resting on the grass with a blissful expression. "She… she actually fell asleep?"

"Yeah, it was a surprise to us as well." Kirito stated. "We all just woke up and there she was, resting under the tree just below you."

' _You make it sound like there was a reason for that.'_ Nadar thought as Kirito continued.

"So after a bit of debating, we decided that I should stay behind and watch after you two until you woke up as well."

"Well, I guess I should thank you for that." Nadar sighed, stretching his back out. "So where are they now?"

"At home, last time I checked." Kirito answered, opening his map to track Silica and Sachi. "Yep, I think they're about to sit down for dinner too." Kirito then sighed as he let his map vanish, looking disappointed. "Man, and Sachi was going to make her spicy Germent sandwich."

"Right, your favorite." Nadar muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes at his guild leader's disappointment. He then sighed as he walked up to Kirito, shaking his head in annoyance. "Well then, why don't you go down and eat dinner with them? I'll stay and watch after Asuna while you guys stuff your faces."

"Wait, seriously!?" Kirito asked in shock, caught off guard as Nadar sat down on the wall. "You're joking, right? Messing with me like normal?"

"I just gave you a chance to have a meal with Sis without worrying about getting an axe up your ass." Nadar responded with a glare. "If I were you, I'd take the chance now before I change my mind."

"O-Oh, right!" Kirito recoiled back, sensing the hostility in Nadar's voice before getting up and heading to the town.

With him gone, Nadar was able to take a breath to calm himself, feeling able to actually relax now that everyone was gone and Asuna was asleep. Taking an extra second to look around, making sure that no one was remotely close, he opened his menu and selected a special item.

A single straight sword appeared in his hand, one that was so low level, he couldn't even dare consider using it or giving it to Kirito or Sachi. But the design was special, as it was the same sword type that Sarah had at the start of the game.

"Hi Sarah…" Nadar muttered as he traced his fingers on the flat of the blade, staring at the reflection of his face. He didn't say anything after, just sitting there with the sword in hand, facing towards Asuna to make sure she was in the corner of his vision. He would remain sitting, holding the blade with surprising delicacy for almost an hour before returning it to his inventory, several drops of water decorating the blade before he did.

"Wow, would you look at that." Nadar didn't show any signs of surprise, just simply wiping his eyes as he heard a patrol of the Holy Dragon Alliance walking back from the fields. "Taking a nap in the middle of the day."

"Talk about getting lucky." Another said, Nadar noting that he was looking at Asuna as they passed.

' _I'm going to have a chat with Schmitt tomorrow.'_ He thought, clenching his hands together tightly before releasing it, confused at his own thoughts. _'Where did that come from?'_ He then looked back to Asuna, seeing her sleep silently in complete peace.

It gave him a chance to actually see Asuna with a face besides angry or annoyed when not in a life-or-death situation. And despite his usual instincts, he couldn't help but notice how different she was when she seemed to be when unconscious. "She actually seems a little…" He muttered, realizing what he was about to say before slapping himself.

"Don't even try to think like that Nadar." He said to himself, the grid injury appearing over his cheek. "You lost that right a long time ago. Don't think it's that easy to just be forgiven and move on." He then felt his frustration begin to settle in, his foot tapping in anxiousness.

"Ugh… now I can't stand still." He groaned, now wishing that something would happen. He had to do something now or else he'd likely wake Asuna up. And he didn't want to have to deal with her while he was already annoyed.

That's when an idea lit in the axe man's head, a devious grin forming on his face as he looked down to the KoB player. "Well I mean, yeah she'll be mad. But it'll be so worth it to wait for her to wake up."

* * *

"Mmmmng…" Asuna moaned as her eyes slowly opened. It took her a few seconds to realize that she had fallen asleep, and while it was annoying she couldn't deny that she enjoyed the nap. She recognized that she was on her back, but when she tried to get up she was stopped by a massive weight. "What the…" When she looked down to her chest, she stared in shock as she saw Nadar's axe on her, the massive weapon stopping her from getting up.

"You know, I never understood why you chose a rapier." Her head snapped to the left as she saw Nadar standing across from her, wielding her rapier in his right hand while holding the sheathe with his left. "It always seemed like too much of a toothpick weapon." He commented, swiping the blade to the side, feeling the weight being practically nothing to him. "I mean you have plenty of speed, if you just added some more strength you could upgrade to an estoc. At least that would increase your DPS enough to take out minions down like they were nothing."

"Nadar what are you… ngh! What are you doing?" Asuna demanded in anger, trying to push up against the axe. But no matter what she tried, the weight of the weapon kept her completely down. It shocked her just how heavy the axe was, she'd even wager it was almost as heavy as a paladin's armor alone. "Why did you pin me down with your axe?"

"Well I couldn't have you moving around while I messed with you." He said in a suggestive manner, grinning as he sheathed the rapier in front of him.

"W-What?" Asuna asked with wide eyes, seeing Nadar grin at her when he turned.

"Oh yes, I couldn't help myself but take the opportunity laid before me." He'd say as he walked over to her, kneeling next to her head while placing the end of her sheath on the ground as support. "The Lightning Flash, considered to be the most elegant and beautiful player on the front lines, was just sleeping a few feet away from me." He'd the look down, his head leaning down to be just above hers. "I mean, just about any guy with half a mind would do what I did."

Asuna's cheeks would flare red as her eyes narrowed in a mixture of anger and fear, his tone giving her more than a few ideas on what he had done to her. "What did you do to me, you sick pervert?" Nadar would just grin wider in response, causing her to tighten her fists in anger. "I… I can't believe you. I always thought you were a delinquent, but I never pegged you for someone who'd sink so low."

Nadar would chuckle, swiping down and activating his menu. "Well what can I say, I live to be a disappointment to the whole world. But if I must say…" After going through his menus, he eventually settled on the images before turning the menu to her, his façade breaking as he saw Asuna's eyes widen in shock. "I couldn't pass up such a prime opportunity for blackmail!"

On the screen was pictures of Asuna, but what she hadn't expected were that they were all of her in ridiculous positions, Nadar in the frame clearly as the culprit. There were almost a dozen, ranging from her being rolled into a fetal position to even sucking on her thumb. But the one that caused her the most embarrassment was the one with her with her arms and legs all over the place, drool escaping her mouth as she slept.

"I honestly love this one the most." Nadar chuckled, leaving Asuna's rapier on the ground while he picked up his axe off of her. "I didn't even have to do anything to do that, you just shifted over and did that to yourself. Who would have guessed you were such a messy sleeper!" He began to laugh, putting the axe on his back as he stepped a few feet back, giving Asuna space. "I mean I seriously wasn't expecting that! Even I don't sleep that bad, and I'm a complete mess!"

Nadar would keep laughing until he saw Asuna sit up, holding an arm across her chest as she looked away. She was fidgeting slightly, clearly bothered by all the implications Nadar had given before revealing what he had actually done. "I-Is that… really all? Nothing else?"

' _Maybe I went a little too far.'_ Nadar stopped his laughing at the question, mentally kicking himself at seeing her reaction.

"Of course that was all." He answered. "I'm a horrible person, but I would never go as far to actually do something as detestable as that." He didn't have to say it, Asuna knew what he meant, evident in her sigh of complete relief.

"Thank god…"

The whisper caused Nadar to look away in shame, sitting down as he saw how honestly terrified she must have been. "It might not mean much, but… sorry." He apologized, not looking to the girl as he did. "I didn't expect you to take the joke that seriously, but that really isn't an excuse." He then linked his fingers together, hiding his mouth behind his hands as he looked down. "Usually you get mad and yell at me, seeing you scared like that… didn't feel right."

Asuna turned to look at him as he talked, seeing for the first time an apologetic and sorry Nadar. Every time she had seen him before, he was remorseless and uncaring, nothing having any effect on him aside from his friends. There was never a time she could ever recall him showing actual regret.

The two remained in dead silence, across from each other as the sun was in the early stages of setting. Eventually, Nadar worked the guts up to look up to Asuna. "Do you want something to eat?"

* * *

The two sat awkwardly across each other, now down at floor 57 in the town Martin's restaurant: Restaurant. During the brief silence, several of the other customers in the establishment took notice to Asuna. She was easily recognizable as the second in command of the KoB, leading to them speculating what was going on.

"That's Asuna, isn't it?'

"Ms. Lightning Flash?"

"What's she doing down here?"

"And what's with the creep sitting across from her?"

The last comment got Nadar's eye to twitch, but before he could say anything the girl across from him did. "Um… Nadar…" Asuna said quietly, getting his attention. "I would like to say… thank you, for watching over me while I slept."

"Oh, um… no problem." He responded cautiously, rubbing the back of his head as he did. "It was the… least I could do. Never know with all the glitches and creative killers going around these days." The two were obviously uncomfortable, but were smart enough to remain clear from the subject that was bothering them. It would only make matters worse if they spoke of it in a public space.

But even then, it was heavily bothering Nadar, his fist tightening as the waitress poured water into their glasses. "Look Nadar, how about we just agree that it didn't happen?" Asuna asked, noting just how tight his fist was. "You didn't do anything, and we can't have this kind of tension between us with the boss raid coming up in a few days."

Thanks to Asuna being the one to say something, Nadar was able to sigh in relief, a weight coming off his shoulders in response. "If you want to forget it, then I will as well. I'll even delete all the pictures I took as a way of apologizing, sound fair?"

"I thought that's what the dinner was for?"

"The dinner was to try and get our minds off "It", but clearly that isn't working." He explained, leaning back into his chair while crossing his arms. "And aside from that, I didn't have lunch and had gotten really hungry. You're not the ideal person I'd want to spend my dinner with, but I'll take about anyone over this."

While she gave an irritated look at him, Asuna was grateful that Nadar had actively tried to get the subject to change. And while it wasn't the best way of doing so, it beat the awkward air that was suffocating them moments ago. "Well, you aren't exactly the picture of who I planned on ever going out to dinner with."

"None of this "going out" shit, we ain't dating." Nadar scoffed, looking out the window as he did. "You're not even the record of what I'd say is beautiful, 6/10 at best."

"Excuse me!"

"Wow, you two are actually in the same building together?" Both Nadar and Asuna nearly had heart attacks as they turned to the source of the new voice, seeing Hachiman walking in. In his new green jacket and a pair of baggy white pants. Overall, his gear hadn't changed much, however his lance had been given an impact buff, giving it a silver shine over it's blue metal. "And we're not at a boss meeting either, what the hell happened here?"

"Absolutely nothing." Both said simultaneously, getting the samurai to raise an eyebrow at them.

When they didn't say anything further, he simply shrugged his shoulders. "Fine don't tell me, I can live with the mystery. Mind if I sit with you?" He'd ask, getting the two to mentally debate before nodding. Both Asuna and Nadar trusted Hachiman, if anything he was the normal balance in the trio when they were in the same party. They could trust him to not favor the other in debates and make a proper judgment call when needed, so they had no problem letting him eat dinner with them.

"I'm buying, so help yourself." Nadar would say, grabbing his glass as he started to take a sip.

"What brought you down here Hachiman?" Asuna would ask, interested as the spearman would sit down. "I thought you'd be up on floor 59 to eat, you normally stay with the frontlines when eating."

"Normally yes, but that changed when we got here on floor 57." Hachiman responded, thanking the waitress when she brought him a glass of water. "You see, this place reminds me a lot of the place I used to go with my girlfriend back in the real world."

"Pft, keep telling yourself that." Nadar chuckled, taking a pause from drinking to laugh at the spearman.

"Very funny Nadar, but I'm honestly serious in what I said. Before getting stuck in here, I was going out with an old childhood friend. Although before we did have a bit of a bump in our relationship and well…" Hachiman shrugged as he thought about it, sighing before continuing. "Now I'm not sure what she might think. And I can't focus on it too much, not until we get out of here."

"I'm sure she's worried for you." Asuna would comfort Hachiman, actually taking interest in the conversation. "Even if you two might have been on a bit of a pause, I don't have a doubt she's counting the days until you wake up. And I promise personally that we'll get out as soon as we can."

"Thanks Asuna, it means a lot to hear that from someone else." Hachiman smiled. "If I'm being honest, I can't remember what we were fighting about, but I'm pretty sure it was something stupid and childish. We always got into tiny little debates but it usually ended in a day or two. And once we made up we'd go out for ice cream or go bowling."

"That sounds sweet."

"Meh, if you're into that sort of thing." Nadar shrugged, going back to sipping his water.

Asuna would kick Nadar's foot in response, the two not giving evidence to the spike as she spoke up. "What's her name? If you don't mind me asking that is."

"It's alright, I trust you two enough with a tiny bit of my real life." Hachiman responded, giving a smile as he thought of her. "If anything, you two are the ones I trust most in this game, just ahead of Sachi and Silica." He then sighed as he closed his eyes, relaxing before he spoke. "Her name is Sara and-"

Before he could finish, Nadar's hand clenched hard and shattered his glass, destroying it to everyone's shock. It was completely out of nowhere, and while he was in no danger of losing health, the cuts from the glass before they disappeared were all over his palm.

"Nadar?" Asuna questioned, seeing his own confused expression at his sudden action. "Are you… okay?"

"Y…Yeah." He responded, shaking his hand as the cuts vanished. "We're in a safe zone, there isn't any danger for me at all. And even then, nothing like cuts that small will affect me." He then held his hand up, signaling a waiter over. "Hey, could I get a tankard of ale? I don't think water will agree with me today."

"That's an understatement." Hachiman muttered, narrowing his eyes as the waiter walked away. "And what was with that outburst? You don't normally lose yourself like that out of nowhere."

"Piss off." Nadar simply said, not saying another word as he rested his cheek on his hand. The cold response had actually caught Hachiman off guard, having never been pushed away by him like that. Not to mention he's never heard a heated anger that was so controlled. It was honestly more off putting than Nadar's normal anger.

Asuna would cough into her fist, trying to get the focus off of the new development. "So then… have you talked to the commander recently?" She asked, completely avoiding the subject that was setting Nadar off. It honestly felt like everything was getting to the executioner today.

"…Yeah." Hachiman said quietly, looking away from Nadar as he spoke. "We were debating on what to do for the boss. So far we don't know too much, but Argo and the other info brokers are working hard to gather as much information they can. It's costing the KoB and HDA a ton, but we figure we'll have everything ready by the end of the week."

"That's good, we've already started to pick floor 59's dungeons and hunting fields clean." Asuna responded. "If we there any longer we'll begin to lose ground on our leveling. The rest of the Assault Team won't be able to keep up with their leveling once the EXP runs dry."

"It won't." Nadar muttered as he looked out the window. "As broken as the system is, there's no way it'll let us run out of EXP before a floor's cleared. We just can't have idiot superiors telling everyone to grind almost 24/7 and burn through the mobs quicker than they can spawn."

"You say it like it's that easy."

"Send two parties out a day, let them clear out all the fields while the others relax. And then have two that weren't sent before go and gain experience." He detailed, rolling his eyes as he turned back to them. "It's a system that keeps everyone calm and near the same level. It's what we do if some of us want to spend our time resting after a long day."

"And how well has that worked out for you so far?" Asuna asked.

"Remind me again, what're your two's levels?"

"77." Asuna answered.

"78." Hachiman said shortly after.

"Silica in the spam of the months it took is level 75 now. Sis and Kirito are both up to level 78 after teaming up and grinding for as long as they have been." Nadar compared as his tankard was delivered, grabbing it before finishing. "And because of how much I'm going back and forth, I'm up to level 80."

"You're the same level as the commander?" Asuna asked, surprised at the claim.

"Yep, because just like him, I like to keep my hunting parties small. Thanks to the Moonlit Black cats being a small guild we only have to worry about the four of us, and that means there's more EXP to go around." He then took a swig of his ale, sighing and calming down as he slammed it down. "As for your guys' parties, there's often ten to twelve on average per group, which really thins out all the points that go around."

"And before you throw the "If you can make plans like this why don't you help planning with the team" save it." He quickly added in, getting both Asuna and Hachiman to shut their mouths. "Kirito made the set up, we've been following his style for the past couple of months and they've gone really well. Hell, sometimes we leave with more EXP going a floor lower because everyone's farming the monsters on the current floor."

"That much I remember." Hachiman nodded. "We did that a few times back when I partied up with you two. Hell, that's how we met the Black Cats in the…" Hachiman slowly stopped speaking as he remembered the event, flawlessly recovering to avoid suspicion. "…First place. Just before I left the three of you."

"Smooth." Nadar grunted, taking another swig of his ale before looking over to Asuna. "So I'd recommend making your hunting parties smaller, numbers are safer but they make everything more difficult to work with. It'll slow us down by probably a few days, but our leveling will go so much smoother and we'll be able to go through some floors without having to grind for EXP."

"You know, it surprises me that the Moonlit Black Cats don't have more players in its ranks." Asuna commented. "With how well Kirito thinks your plans through, and how well coordinated you all are you could easily rise in the ranks of the top guilds. If you just offered people to join I'm sure you'd be able to at least get ten players to join within a week."

"That's because we're more than a guild." Nadar responded, placing his tankard down. "Our coordination comes with months of learning about each other and forming close bonds. What's more is we all have something that can bring us together and work as one. We look after one another and will do anything for each other should they ask. We're family. And you can't get that same connection by just recruiting people who are willing to join you."

"Wow…" Hachiman whistled. "That's… really deep man. I don't think I was expecting all of you to have such a close connection like-"

"Also, if one more person tries to flirt with Sis, I'm throwing all the bastards off the god damn castle." Nadar added in, getting sighs from both Asuna and Hachiman as they looked down.

"That's closer to what I was expecting."

"I'm more disappointed in the fact that I thought you were actually beginning to develop more as a person." Asuna shook her head, getting an agreed shrug from Nadar.

"What can I say? I already went through my development. This shit stain of a person is who I changed in to, and there isn't much that'll fix me." Nadar chuckled, holding his tankard up into the air as he grinned. "But then we wouldn't have made it this far into the front lines with a record low casualties for almost ten floors! If anything, I've killed way more people in the time from floor 50 to here then mobs have!"

As he laughed audibly, the whole restraint was looking over to him with a mixture of stares of disgust, hatred and fear. "Hey Nadar, maybe cut back on the talk of your work." Hachiman would recommend. "You're going to rub your reputation further into the dirt at this rate."

"What reputation?" Nadar asked back, confusing Hachiman. "None of these people know who I am, most criminals don't even recognize me when they see me. The only ones who have my face and equipment down to the letter are members of Laughing Coffin. I'm just a face that everyone forgets right after seeing them."

"Laughing Coffin?" Asuna questioned, showing concern as Nadar began to chug his ale down. "You've had more run-ins with them?"

"At least twenty since they showed up." Nadar answered as he finished chugging, slamming the tankard hard enough on the table to make the silverware shake and go out of place. "They don't ever stay long enough for me to kill them, but they like to test their luck and see how long it takes before I knock them into the red. It's almost like a game to them."

"Sounds about right, giving how insane they are." Hachiman commented. "Any of the high value targets? One of their leaders?"

"I had my damn hands around Black's neck at one point." Nadar glared. "But the damn bastard always seems to have just one extra knife on him at all times, and before I could wring his neck he paralyzed me and fucked off."

"He didn't stay to try and kill you?"

"Black's insane, but he isn't a total idiot." He admitted. "They know about my Marauder Class perks. They know once my health enters the red any negative effects wear off and I'm able to break him in half when I get up. He's just using me to try and figure out if his new techniques work."

"Which, reminds me." Asuna brought up. "There's been rumors going around of a recent murderer, one who's proclaiming that they'll "Right the sins of the damned" before vanishing out of thin air. Think anything of that?"

"Whack job that's taken a page out of Ledger and is too consumed in his role." Nadar responded, crossing his arms as he leaned back. "All the religious spouters are crazy, even further than most that are in Laughing Coffin."

"Which in turn makes him dangerous." Hachiman added in. "If he's off the deep end there's no telling what he might do. Any idea where this guy was seen? Nadar and I could make a quick run and find him before it gets public."

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"On second though, I think we know." Nadar responded as all three shot to their feet, hearing a terrified woman scream outside.

All three pushed their way through the people standing up in Restaurant, Nadar taking the lead as he kicked the door open. When they all got out and ran for the courtyard, Hachiman and Asuna both stared in shock and horror as a man in full armor was hung from the bell tower. A massive red blade was sticking through his chest, the spikes across it keeping it lodged in. His armor also looked horribly damaged, dozens of marks across him as he clutched the blade.

"Oh my god…"

"Huh, hung in a brutal fashion. Think he knows Guts' mom?" Nadar however, wasn't even fazed by the sight, looking up at the man as if he had seen it hundreds of times.

"Nadar what the hell?" Hachiman said, looking at the axe man. "The guy is dying and all you can do is what I assume is a reference?"

"Guys, we're in a safe zone right now." Nadar responded with a half lidded gaze. "Even if it hurts more than the third installment in every old movie trilogy, it's not like he's going to die or anyth-" he then stopped suddenly, Hachiman's words crossing over him. "Have… have you not read Berserk?"

"Focus, I'll cut him down." Asuna interrupted, running for the bell tower's entrance. "You two catch him when he drops."

"I'll try to save him better than Andrew Garfield." Nadar quipped, running for the man as he looked up. "Hey man, if you drop and there's some kind of weird thing inside you that's trying to bait us into releasing it, I'm gonna be really annoyed."

"Please… help…"

"Oh quit whining." Nadar groaned as he rolled his eyes. "You have a sword in you while in a SAFE ZONE! Asuna will have you cut down and then you'll be breathing better than-" Nadar was then interrupted as the man visibly convulsed in pain, screaming before he shattered.

With his body gone, the blade fell right to the ground, impaling into the brick and scaring the crowd. "Huh…" Nadar simply hummed as he looked to the crowd. "Sooooo… any of you seen Berserk to get a reference or two?"

"Damn it Nadar, stop messing around!" Asuna shouted as she got to the end, having seen the final moments of the man. "Someone just died!"

"I'm going to bring up the fact once again that you can't die in a safe zone!" Nadar shouted back, looking up to her as Hachiman picked up the sword. "There's no way that was a guy. Probably just someone messing around with the NPCs for the shits and giggles."

"Oh yeah, because that's soooo hilarious!"

"I know right? I was honestly thinking someone was in danger for a second or something." Nadar chuckled. "I mean, it seemed pretty believable. Maybe the system's set up a unique quest even. It'd make sense over how well thought out it was."

"U-Um… excuse me?" A woman would speak up as she walked towards Hachiman and Nadar, passing the crowd as she did. For a lack of better words, she looked terrified. "I… I knew the player who just died."

"You mean NPC, right?" Nadar asked. "Cause I hate being the broken record, but no one can die in a safe zone."

"N-No, that was Caynz. He and I are… were friends." She would say, getting Hachiman to walk up to her. "My name is Yolko, and Caynz and I came just a few minutes ago to get dinner. But we were separated and then… then…" She then began to cry, leading to Hachiman putting a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, we'll get to the bottom of this. I promise." Hachiman stated, getting her to cry more as she hugged him in grief. He then looked over to Nadar, glaring as the axe man still seemed unfazed. "So, an NPC huh?"

"I'm working through it."


	11. Murder Mystery

**(A/N): Hi, sorry that I put this in, I just wanted to say something real quick. I wanted to say thank you for everyone reading both this story and all my others, it means a lot that people have been showing such interest. And I'm grateful for all the support and reviews given to me. I read each of them and am glad to see my readers engaging with the story and enjoying it. I may write these for the fun of it, but I feel happy to know that others enjoy reading it just as much. Thank you once again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"Thank you for walking me back, I didn't feel safe being by myself." Yolko thanked as she was at the door of her home just across from town. Night had by now taken over, the dark streets illuminated by candlelights and lanterns.

"Of course, it was the least we could do." Hachiman responded.

"I know this might be hard, but would you be willing to talk to us tomorrow over this?" Asuna asked, being gentle in her tone. "We'll need some leads, and since you know Caynz you'll be one of our best sources."

"Of… of course."

"Try and get some sleep, we'll be back by 7:00." Nadar finished, watching as Yolko closed the door. "Alright, now that our source is somewhere safe, we need to figure out whatever is so damn special about the sword that was used. As well as come up with any kind of motive that might have been in place."

"Right, well we can rule out traditional assassination out right off the bat." Hachiman said, all three walking through town as they brainstormed. "If someone wanted him dead, they wouldn't have the need to make it be seen so publicly. Known, possibly, but not spread like that."

"Which makes me think there's a lot more to this than what's let on. A murder so revealing in the middle of the dinner rush? Someone wanted this seen, and it's to target someone Caynz knows. And if we want to catch them before they likely go after anyone else, we need to figure out the motive."

"This is a surprising amount of investment from you." Asuna noted, getting the two's attention. "Which leaves the question as to why you do care so much?"

"Oh, that's simple. I want to prove that I was right and that Caynz is still alive." Nadar answered honestly. When he saw the appalled looks of his fellow players, he rolled his eyes. "Oh you've got to be kidding me, you guys honestly believe that someone died right now?"

"Nadar, he. Shattered." Hachiman reminded him. "That doesn't happen unless you've been killed. No player would shatter unless for that very reason."

"So just take it at face value with no further depth? God how have we made it this far with someone like you aiding the raid plans?" Nadar responded, chuckling as he shook his head. "Look, my selfish reasons aside, there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered. So let's start off by getting this sword to an appraiser."

"Are you volunteering one you know?" Asuna questioned.

"Agil's shop is down on floor 50, a quick teleport trip without any risks." Nadar explained, the three stepping on the teleport platform. "And he's a reasonable guy, he hears the current stipulation and he'll clear things up."

"Facts." Asuna drilled into his head as they teleported, appearing in floor 50's main hub town.

"That is to be decided so far." Nadar would state as he began to walk, being followed shortly as he navigated through. Aside from the Moonlit Black cats, none of the Assault Team guilds do any business with Agil, as his prices are rather ridiculous. And just after floor 50, he'd serve as a member less and less, until eventually setting up shop on the same floor.

It gave him a bad reputation among the KoB and HAD, and that in a way drew the Cats more to him. He wasn't preferred by the bigger guilds, which meant business would be much more profitable in their trades.

It had taken ten minutes of walking, but they eventually reached the man's shop. The best signal being the exhausted player walking out with a low tier spear, another sucker having been tricked out of likely a large sum of col.

Knocking twice on the open door, Nadar would smirk as he stepped in. "Yo Agil, long time no see."

"Nadar, as I live and breath!" Agil grinned as he turned to the redhead, both fist bumping when they were close enough. "Good to see that my number 1 customer hasn't bitten the virtual dust yet. How ya been buddy?"

"Eh, can't complain too much." Nadar shrugged. "I got a bit of a problem that's recently come up though, so we're going to need your help on a little something. A quick little appraisal if you wouldn't mind."

"Of course, what do you and Kirito need me to look at?"

"Well about that…" Nadar trailed off as his eyes looked back, Agil's following to see Asuna and Hachiman both standing at the door. This lead to Agil grabbing Nadar and partially pulling him over the counter, tightening Nadar's shirt around his neck. "Ack! Hey!"

"What on earth are you doing!?" Agil whisper-shouted, his face right next to Nadar's. "You've always hated the KoB, you never even give them the time of day and say how much you'd love to see them burn to the ground! I can get Hachiman cause of your guys' past but what are you doing hanging around with Asuna!?"

"If you would let me explain then you'll understand everything!"

"Is it normally like this between them?" Asuna asked, getting a nervous chuckle from Hachiman.

"Well, Nadar's always was doing things that confuses people. Agil's just the only one who tries to make sense of things when he shouldn't."

"Oh… okay?"

"Would you just let me go before I do something you'll regret!?"

"Not until you explain what's going on!"

"I will break. EVERYTHING! In this store if you don't let me go right now!"

"We both know I'd be able to get you to pay for everything, you wouldn't dare!"

* * *

"So, someone died in a safe zone. And this weapon was stabbed through him when he died?" Agil asked, going through the basic details the three had told him. The sword that impaled Caynz was on the table, the thorned red blade appearing unlike any other weapon the merchant's seen.

"Allegedly." Nadar corrected, getting an elbow from Asuna. "It's up for debate." A kick to his shin was what came next. "Listen Agil, can you just check the stupid sword out before I throw Asuna through your window? Preferably the one in your spare room on the next floor?"

"Yeah, sure." Agil responded, picking the sword up. The design clearly had him thrown for a loop, never expecting such a blade to be made. "But with a sword made like this, I'm not sure how easy it's going to be." He then clicked on the item tag, opening a menu before a queue wait started, his appraisal loading as he attempted it.

"Wow, I couldn't imagine this art being simple." Nadar mumbled, resting back into his chair as he crossed his arms.

A ping then went off for Agil, and shortly after all of the weapon's details popped up. "Well here we are. Guilty Thorn, and by looks of it it's made by some guy by the name of Grimlock. He isn't one of the top blacksmiths though, I can tell you that for sure."

"Is there anything else?" Hachiman asked. "We need any evidence we can get."

"There isn't much on this thing. It's got a decent damage to it, it'd be a downgrade to a long sword like Kirito's Elucidator, but it'd make for a good replacement if it somehow broke." Agil informed, looking through the rest of the stats before handing it across the table to Nadar. "But other than that? Nothing, certainly no special effect that'd let you kill in a safe zone."

As Nadar took it, he'd take note of the crimson blade, feeling the surprising weight to it. "Guilty Thorn huh? Rather poetic." He thought out loud, the idea reminding him of someone. He then flipped the blade, holding it in a reverse grip as he placed his hand on the table. "Well then, only one way to find out."

Everyone was then caught off guard as he was going through the motions to stab the sword into his palm. The only one who was quick enough to stop him was Asuna, who stood up as she grabbed his wrist. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"I'm going to stab myself and see if I lose any health in the process." Nadar answered simply, having only stopped because of Asuna's interference. "It's not like I'm in any serious danger or anything. My sword level is nonexistent and if this is a downgrade from an Elucidator then I should take almost no damage at all."

"Are you crazy? That sword's already killed someone today, what's to say that something worse won't happen!?"

"The fact that it's all too theatrical to possibly be a normal situation in which people are being assassinated in a safe zone." Nadar responded. "Put it together Asuna, that crazy rumor about someone "righting the sins of the damned"? The super convenient placement of Caynz being hanged? A sword named Guilty fucking Thorn? This shit screams plot with a hidden intent."

"While I do agree on the sword and murder rumors, we can't ignore the fact that Caynz is dead and that that sword is the reason he's gone." Hachiman spoke up, sighing as he recovered from Nadar trying to impale himself. "So I'd say it's best to avoid any potential risks until we have a better hold on things."

"Which means you can't be trusted with this." Asuna added in, taking Guilty Thorn from Nadar. "Agil, can we trust you with this for now?" She'd ask, holding the sword to him.

"Oh… uh, sure." Agil responded as he took the sword. "No problem."

Both Asuna and Hachiman then gave disappointed looks to Nadar, getting him to actually lean back. "What? It was just going to be a test. It's not like I was going to stab myself in the face or something."

"The problem was you planning on stabbing yourself with a murder weapon in the first place." Asuna stated. "Where you had stabbed was irrelevant to the risk you were taking."

"Oh just go back to your houses and leave me be." Nadar scoffed. "I'm going home and explaining to everyone why I won't be able to hang out tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, that's right." Hachiman muttered, looking over to Asuna. "We're going to have to report this to Heathcliff."

"Right."

"Well scurry off then. We'll meet back in Martin to investigate."

* * *

On the next day, at 7:00 O'clock sharp, the three players had picked up Yolko and brought her back to Restaurant. While Hachiman and Asuna sat across a table from the girl, Nadar stood against the wall, just right next to an open window.

There had been a respected silence, as the three were giving Yolko time to process everything that had happened yesterday. And after ten minutes of giving her time, Asuna was the one who broke the silence. "So, Yolko, we were wondering if you've ever heard of the name Grimlock."

That caused Yolko to gasp, leading Nadar to roll his eyes. "Well that's as dead of a give away as any. So, what do you know about him?"

"Well… actually, he and I were once in the same guild, as was Caynz." She answered, looking down as she did.

"Okay, then I guess we should get this out of the way quick." Hachiman sighed, not looking forward to explain what they had discovered. "That sword that was used to impale Caynz, we had an appraiser look it over and Grimlock went down as the smith who made it."

Yolko looked in utter terror at the news, putting her hands to her mouth as she tried to contain herself. "So yeah, guild buddy has a part in this." Nadar spoke up. "Any idea why he'd go all Xenomorph on ya butt buddy's chest?"

"Nadar!"

"What!? It's not like many of you get the references to begin with!"

"It's… it's okay." Yolko muttered, getting all three's attention. "And I… I think there is a reason he might have did this. Our guild, Golden Apple, was out hunting about six months ago when we killed a rare monster, and it dropped a ring that could raise a player's Agility by 20. Some of us wanted to keep the ring, while others wanted to sell it and split the profits fairly."

"Eventually, we put it to a vote. It was five to three, in favor of selling it." Yolko revealed, all of the Assault Players listening carefully at her news. "Our leader, Griselda, was going to the frontlines to sell it and was staying over night. But as days went by, we had realized that she wasn't coming back, and that someone had killed her."

"So we got a rare item, a guild split on the fate of said item, and a missing leader who was going to sell it." Hachiman listed off, going over the facts as he talked. "So if I were going to bet on something, whoever killed Griselda had to have known about the ring. Too much points towards it to be the main reason she was killed."

"Meh, I've killed for less." Nadar shrugged. "But there's something you didn't explain, where does Grimlock fit in all of this?"

"…Grimlock was Griselda's wife." Yolko revealed, catching the three off guard. "But not IRL, they had gotten married in the game though. They were always happy with each other, I don't recall a single time they disagreed on anything. And if Grimlock made that sword, he's likely going after the three who wanted to sell the ring. Caynz and I were two of them, and the third was a lancer named Schmitt."

Nadar didn't miss the small taste in malice that came with Yolko saying the lancer's name, but didn't comment on it as he spoke. "So Schmitt huh? Figures that guy's mixed in with this whole shit show."

"Do you know him?" Asuna asked, getting a nod in return.

"He's a lancer in the HAD, one of the captains of their guild. He joined about five months ago, which would match up to Golden Apple falling apart after the ring."

"Wait, you know Schmitt?" Yolko asked, looking over to the axe man. "I need to see him, he has to know what has happened to Caynz."

"Are you sure?" Nadar asked, genuinely off put by the idea. "We are talking about the same Schmitt right? I don't think he's someone who should be brought in to this."

"Why Nadar?" Hachiman asked. "I don't talk to the HAD that much, but I recall Schmitt being a decent player. Shouldn't he be involved in this?"

"Weeeeeelllllllll…"

* * *

"I knew, I knew they were coming for me! It was only a matter of time! The walls are closing in!" Schmitt repeated to himself as he sat on a couch, across from Yolko. They were currently on the top floor of the town's inn, with Nadar, Hachiman and Asuna standing by the door. They had told the lancer the news, and it had gone about as smoothly as Nadar expected.

"So, now do you understand why I thought this was a bad idea?"

"Is he always like this?" Asuna asked, not giving Nadar the satisfaction of an answer.

"Only when he's stressed." Yolko answered.

"He's always stressed." Nadar added in, getting an irritated sigh from Asuna as she kept herself composed. "See, he used to be a game reviewer IRL, and ever since he got stuck here he's thinking on how some of his… "less appreciated" viewers might cash in on their threats."

"How do you know that?" Hachiman asked, looking over to Nadar.

"I… knew someone who was a frequent commenter on his channel." Nadar explained, not going into detail on who the person was.

"I would laugh at them when they commented, LAUGHED!" Schmitt would exclaim. "But now, what if they really do chop off my limbs, rip out my intestines, and ride me like some kind of meat toboggan!?"

Nadar couldn't help but chuckle as he thought about it. "That one's always got me grinning. I can just see it perfectly: a nice winter day, freshly fallen snow on the ground, children playing happily at the joyous time. And then there's the sound of bells, and when they turn, they see Schmitt's terrified expression, his head used as an ornament as his flesh made sled goes by in the distance. And as a trail of blood, guts and fat is left in it's wake, all you can ask is, why?"

"Oh god!" Schmitt cried, holding his head between his hands.

"Nadar, would you just shut up and let Yolko handle this?" Asuna demanded, getting a mock surrender from the player.

"It's okay, no one is going to kill you over your reviews Schmitt." Yolko would say, getting Schmitt to calm down and look to her.

"Do you mean it? My reviewers, aren't coming for me?"

"That's right, but Grimlock is. And he's come to bring righteous vengeance upon us." That however, brought the panic back to Schmitt as he stared in horror.

"Maybe… Nadar talking wasn't such a bad thing." Hachiman commented, getting an entertained smile from the mentioned player.

"Oh I don't know what you're talking about. I find this very enlightening."

"N-No, that can't be it." Yolko would say, standing up as realization struck her face. "Caynz was killed in a safe zone. Grimlock couldn't be the killer."

"Thank fuck, finally someone who actually speaks reas-"

"IT MUST HAVE BEEN GRISELDA'S GHOST!" Yolko shouted in fear, interrupting Nadar as she walked back. "SHE'S RETURNED FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE TO BRING BLOODY VENGEANCE UPON US ALL!"

.

.

.

"You know what? Never mind. She's just as loony as Schmitt is." Nadar sighed, being the only one unfazed by Yolko's freak-out.

"It's all our fault." Yolko cried, sitting in front of the window as she did. "We should've just listened to Griselda, now there's nothing that can stop her judgment."

"Crossing the streams might." Nadar received and elbow from Asuna in return, getting him to shut up.

"You're okay with this!?" Schmitt questioned, standing up as he showed concern for Yolko. "I don't know about you, but I have a duty to my fans to survive this game. Well… beside the ones threatening to use my broken jaw like a xylophone."

"Everybody relax." Hachiman spoke up. "There is no ghost, I think we can all agree on that much."

"Well if there is, I know exactly who to call." Nadar responded, getting a punch to his shoulder from Asuna.

"Damn it Nadar, these people's lives are in danger. And all you can do is make jokes of this?"

"They are not in danger!" Nadar shouted back, the tensions high in the room. "I don't get how many times I have to say it, but you can't. Die. In a safe zone!"

 _ **Shink**_

The sound of a knife causing significant damage caught everyone's attention, and they all turned in time to see Yolko turn to her side, revealing a black dagger in her back. When she was beginning to fall out the window, Nadar ran forward to try and catch her, missing just as she fell out.

Just before she had hit the ground, she shattered, vanishing from sight completely. As he stared out the window, Nadar caught movement at the corner of his eye. Seeing a cloaked figure, he put a foot on the edge of the window in preparation. "I got eyes on someone, moving to-"

"I got it!" Hachiman called out, jumping past Nadar with grace. That was, however, until his javelin caught onto Nadar's axe, pulling him with him. "Shit!" And with the added weight of another player and the massive axe, both were victims to gravity as they crashed into the side of the building across the street.

In almost a comedic manner, the two remained planted against the wall for several seconds before peeling off, slamming into the street below. "Hachiman." Nadar spoke up, looking over to the lancer.

"Yeah Nadar?"

"You piss me off. So much!"

"That's fair."

* * *

"So, did you at least see anything before failing so gracefully?" Asuna asked when the two made their way back to the room.

"No, I… didn't see anything." Hachiman looked down in guilt. "The guy was gone by the time I went back up to the roof."

"I saw someone teleport before I crashed into a window." Nadar answered. "Or was it… I crashed into the window and then saw the teleport."

"Could you just… stop, please?" Asuna asked.

"She was right." Schmitt spoke up, getting everyone's attention again.

"Oh great, he's having a panic attack." Nadar mumbled, seeing Schmitt's intense shaking.

"Griselda's ghost is really coming for us. And now, I'm the only one left!" He then began to grin in terror, his fear taking over him. "Soon, she'll ride my bloated corpse up the river states to escape to the world of the living! And then, there'll be no stopping her!"

"And now we get to deal with that." Hachiman sighed. "So what's our next move Nada-" The sound of the door closing caught both him and Asuna off guard, Nadar no longer in the room as running was heard outside. "You know, I'm not even sure if I'm mad. That was THE fastest he's ever booked it. And I don't know if I'm impressed or disappointed."

* * *

"I can not believe you left us with him!" Asuna shouted at Nadar as she and Hachiman found him sitting on a bench in the town square.

"Are you sure? Cause I don't think there's a single time I haven't proven my distain for the mentally insane like him." Nadar countered, looking to the two.

"Buh-you-guh…" Asuna stumbled on her words before giving up, sitting next to him on the bench in defeat. "Fair enough." Hachiman then sat on the other side of the bench, looking just flat out exhausted from having to deal with Schmitt. "And in all honesty, I shouldn't be giving you this, but here."

When Nadar looked over to her, he saw that she was holding out a sandwich wrapped up. "Wait… you brought me something to eat?" He questioned, taking it from her cautiously.

"Well, considering how easy getting off track seems to be around you, I figured we probably wouldn't get to eat lunch." She responded, summoning two more sandwiches from her menu and giving one to Hachiman. "So I made enough for us and packed it up. Simple as that."

"Pfft, I don't get you at all." Nadar said. "You keep talking about how "we need to get out of here" but then waste your time with a skill like cooking?" He chuckled as he took a bite. "I mean that's got to be the weirdest thing I've…" he stopped speaking halfway through, swallowing the bite and looking down to the sandwich. "Oh shit, this actually isn't half bad."

"Yeah, you would know that Asuna's cooking skill has been in development since floor 10 if you bothered to talk to her normally." Hachiman jabbed at Nadar, taking a bite out of his own sandwich after. "She's a pretty good chef, not that something like that would-"

Both Hachiman and Asuna were then caught off guard as Nadar practically consumed the whole sandwich, reminding the two of back on floor 1 when Kirito gave Asuna cream for her bread.

Nadar then sighed in bliss as he leaned back onto the bench, content on his face. "Oh man, I forgot what a regular sandwich tastes like. Ever since she's figured out how to make spices, Sachi's been only making spicy gundar to figure out how to make it even hotter."

"Why would she-"

"Kirito loves spicy food."

"Oh that makes sense." Hachiman responded, nodding in understanding. "Well, luckily Asuna doesn't spice her food unless it's requested. So I guess that made this good for you."

"Yeah." Nadar nodded. "Asuna, I give you shit a lot as accordance to my default shitty personality, but I'm putting that aside for now. That was really good, and thank you for bringing it."

"Oh, well, no problem." Asuna nodded, taking a bite of her sandwich and chewing. The three remained in silence for a few minutes, contemplating over what had happened while eating peacefully. When night had already came, they were just looking up into the sky, all of their own thoughts running through their heads as they stared into the stars.

"How the hell are we going to figure this all out?" Hachiman questioned, closing his eyes as he rested his head back. "We got two dead players, killed in safe zones, one whose mental stability is slowly breaking down, and a nameless killer who wears a cloak."

"I don't know, it all seems just impossible to happen." Asuna responded. "Two people dead, one in the safest part in town, and all we could do was watch."

"Wait, we're still debating on that?" Nadar questioned. "I thought I've explained it enough times that there's no way they're dead. In fact I think I know how to prove it."

"Nadar just… give it up." Hachiman sighed. "We now have two players gone because of this person, there's no denying the evidence."

"I refuse to believe they died. There's no way there's an exploit to kill someone other than a duel." Nadar stated, looking to the empty wrapping in his hand. "There just, has to be something to it. Something we're over looking. How can you possibly fake a death like that?"

"Look, could you just-" Before Asuna could finish, a warning popped up in her HUD, warning her about her rapier. "Oh no, I completely forgot!"

"What's wrong?" Hachiman asked.

"I was supposed to go to Liz to have my rapier repaired. I was so busy that I forgot to go to her shop." Nadar chuckled at her excuse, knowing full well that wasn't the case. "Great, now I'm going to have to go in early tomorrow or it's going to break."

' _Break…'_ Nadar thought, thinking about how an item show's it's ability to work. _'Her rapier's durability is low, which means that it'll shatter if she isn't careful.'_ As the two spoke to each other, they failed to notice as Nadar's eyes began to widen, realization hitting him hard.

"I GOT IT!" He suddenly shouted, going to his feet as he cheered. "I fucking figured it out! Fuck you insane people, I figured you're stupid shit out!"

"Nadar? What are you-"

"No talk time, work now!" Nadar responded, grabbing both Asuna and Hachiman and pulling them as he began to walk. "Menu, friends list, Yolo, now!"

"Who the hell is Yolo!?"

* * *

After two hours, Nadar was riding on a horse, galloping fast as he made his way through a forest on floor 19. After checking her friends list, Asuna had seen that Yolko's registration was very much still there, and was currently at the heart of the forest. And after getting the area marked on his HUD, he went as fast as he could to make it there.

As he began to enter a clearing in the trees, there he saw six figures, five standing while one was on the ground. He recognized Yolko and Schmitt right away, and assumed the guy next to Yolko was most likely Caynz. The three others were clearly Laughing Coffin, their attire giving all the evidence he needed to that. And when they turned to see him, they could see anger clear on him as he stopped the horse. "I found you!"

The three assassins all jumped back from Yolko and the others, taking defensive stances when Nadar dismounted. They were readying for a fight when Nadar completely ignored them and walked over to Yolko. Everyone was surprised when he grabbed the collar of her cloak, glaring daggers at her. "Do you have any fucking idea how many aneurism your fucking plan has given me!? I swear my head was going to pop trying to get your stupid goal of faking deaths in safe zones! Not to mention how quickly people believed that shit!"

"And then there's you!" He shouted, reaching and grabbed Caynz's cloak next, pulling his face down to his level. "I have no idea who the fuck you are! But considering you're palling around with the girl who's pants are so tight she might as well be doing yoga, I'm assuming your ass was the one hanging like a blood filled piñata!"

"And you Schmitt!" Nadar continued, looking back to the lancer who was on the ground, a dagger in his shoulder with paralysis poison. "I can not believe how fucking easy and tricked you were to believe that-actually thinking about that, that's the most believable thing out of this." Nadar had instantly calmed down, realizing just how much of an anxietal mess Schmitt was before releasing Yolko and Caynz from his grasp.

He then took a deep breath, turning to the three Laughing Coffin members he recognized too well. "So then, I shouldn't be too surprised that you three are here? Huh, PoH?"

The notorious assassin leader smirked in response. "So nice of you to join us again Nadar. I was wondering if you were going to show up or not."

"You know the moment you three spring into action I'm going to be there in a few minutes." Nadar growled, grabbing his axe and readying himself. "So what's it going to be this time? You gonna test your luck again and try to kill me? Or are you going to be cowards once more and run away?"

"Let me cut him to pieces already." XaXa spoke up, not keeping his eyes off Nadar as he held his estoc. "His damn mouth's been pissing me off for too damn long, and I want to chop him into bits."

"You wanna try, go right ahead." Nadar goaded him. "I want to see how many hits you'll get before I separate your head from your body."

"Why you!"

Before XaXa could make a move, PoH snapped his fingers. Despite being reluctant, XaXa would stand down and sheath his sword. "We're not fools Nadar, we're well aware of the chances of beating you. And while they normally would be a fair split, I'd rather not wait and see what happens when another Assault player gets up and joins you."

All three would pull out teleport crystals, knowing that if they tried to move forward Nadar would attack. "Bye bye Nadar! Hope to kill you soon!" Johnny Black would wave to the axe man before they all vanished, teleporting away without giving Nadar a chance to respond.

"Count your days assholes." Nadar would mutter before putting his axe back on his back, glaring at where the assassins once were. He then turned back to Yolko and Caynz. "I'm still pissed at you two, you wouldn't believe the amount of abuse you've put me through to figure this shit out."

"How did you even figure it out?" Caynz asked. "We had a full proof plan set up, you shouldn't have had any leads."

"Aside from the fact you both coincidentally had weapons in you when you died in safe zones?" Nadar would ask back, getting them to flinch in shock. "Yeah, props for making me not think about that at first, but I didn't believe for a second that Caynz died. And seeing Yolko yeet herself out the window like that made it all too fishy with the dagger in her back. All it took was me remembering that when an item is destroyed it shatters just like a player when they die. Add in a sneaky teleport crystal and anyone will believe you're as dead as Pipet."

"Not to mention how damn theatrical you made it. Given my experience with people like that, I knew better than to shove that off as a cry for attention." He added in. "The crazy ghost thing also was a nice touch, made me think you were just a crazy nutcase who snapped in the heat of the moment."

"I know you might not believe this, but I was going to admit to everything when this was all over." Yolko stated, getting a nod from Nadar.

"You didn't really have to, after a minute of it I realized how bad of an actor you were. You were perfectly calm for almost the whole time I've known you and then turned 180 almost instantly."

"Yeah, that'd do it." Caynz agreed. "But then why come here? If you figured it out why bother showing up?"

"Eh, I wanted to see how everything would play out. I also wanted to see you both so I can say, "Fuck you! I totally called it!" to Hachiman and Asuna. Oh, and to also get the person who killed ya guild leader."

"Wait, you know!?" All three players shouted in unison, getting Nadar to rub his ear.

"Ow, shit that hurts guys." He grunted. "My head's killing me already from putting everything together, try and be a little more quiet while here."

"But how could you possibly figure it out?" Yolko asked. "We've spent the past six months planning this, and all of the evidence went to Schmitt."

"What, this guy?" Nadar questioned, motioning to Schmitt with his thumb. "The guy's upper average at best, no way he'd beat a guild leader. That'd be insulting to the skilled killers that did her in."

"Heeeeey." Schmitt whined, now able to move after removing the knife.

"But if you want to know, I wouldn't put much focus on her direct killers." Nadar explained. "I'd put all my col up and say that it was PoH, Black, and XaXa that did her in. If this were the same Griselda I heard rumors about back on the front lines, they'd be the only ones capable of it. I'd rather think about who ordered them to do it."

"Ordered?"

"Laughing Coffin either kills for the LOLs or when there's a lot of money involved. And I'm not an expert, but I bet there's a lot of col to go around once you're hired to kill a spouse. Shared storage goes like that."

"W-Wait…" Yolko stuttered. "Does that mean you think that…"

"Why don't you come out here and explain it to them, Grimlock." At his words, three pairs of footsteps were heard.

Soon after, Asuna and Hachiman were revealed, and in front of them was a player dressed in all grey. The three former Golden Apple members stared in shock at the reveal, recognizing him as Grimlock. "We found him, took a while longer than expected though." Hachiman informed, his javelin pointed at the man's back.

"Well… hello my old comrades." Grimlock spoke, sounding completely calm as he did. "Long time no see."

"I, I can't believe it. You didn't… you didn't actually plan on killing us were you?" Yolko asked, tears forming in her eyes as the man remained silent. It was all the answer she needed. "How could you!? Why did you kill Griselda!? Was it really for the money, was the money from the ring so worth it that you'd kill someone who loved you for it!?"

"Money? Did you say… money?" Grimlock chuckled in a distasteful tone, sounding insulted at the idea. "No, it wasn't for the money, I never cared about whether we sold or kept the ring. I had to do it, no matter what the cost I had to kill her while we were still in this world. While she was still my wife. And because… she was my life in the real world as well."

Everyone was caught off guard by the information, even Nadar stared in shock at the man's words. "In a way, she was the perfect wife: ideal, so pretty, so submissive. We had never had a single fight when we were married. But once we were trapped here, she completely changed. I was completely terrified, unable to comprehend that we were fighting in a never ending death game."

"But she… she seemed so much happier here. More alive than she ever did in the real world. She changed, and the Yuko that I loved was gone from both this world and the real. Gone!" Grimlock stated, looking to his hands as if they were covered in blood. "But then I realized I didn't have to live with it, murder IS a part of this game! If I couldn't have the Yuko I loved back I could settle for the memory of her. And who could blame me!?"

Everyone was visibly disgusted by Grimlock's words, so much so they almost seemed ready to vomit. But out of everyone there, no one appeared more enraged then Nadar, whose fists were clenched tight and his eyes wide in anger. "That's… that's why you killed her?"

Seeing the focused fury, both Hachiman and Asuna took precautionary steps back, while Grimlock seemed unfazed by his rage. "It's reason enough. And some day, you'll understand too." He responded while looking down. "Once you've found love, believe me you'll do anything to keep-"

As Grimlock looked up to stare at Nadar, he was shocked in horror as his axe came down and cut his right arm off, shattering it to pieces before it hit the ground. "You… selfish!" Nadar began to shout, cutting Grimlock's left arm off, his eyes glowing red as he glared at him. "Thoughtless!" Both of Grimlock's legs came off next, and before he could fall to the ground, Nadar caught him by his hair. The executioner's cursor had by now turned orange, and the color couldn't fit better with his enraged stare. "Heartless bastard! Do you know how many people would hold what you had dear to them!?"

Throwing him to the ground, Nadar watched as Grimlock's health fell dangerously in the red, less than 10% remaining from the few hits he put in. "You had something special, a bond that would complete anyone's life! She loved you, she trusted you! And you threw that all out like she was garbage, just because she was more confident!?"

Raising his axe up, Nadar was dead set on turning the worthless player into nothing but shards. "There's people here who have never felt such a bond, who would treasure it more than their own lives! And then there's those who were too late, who can never have such a connection because… because of their stupidity!"

Hachiman and Asuna both stared in shock as they saw Nadar's hands shake, tears escaping down his eyes despite his enraged glare. "A bastard like you doesn't deserve to live! You didn't love her for a second! She was nothing more than a possession, something for you to control! And how dare you claim to do this all for love! You sick, twisted, evil fuck!"

"Nadar wait!" Just as he was about to bring his axe down, Nadar stopped when Yolko stepped between him and Grimlock. "You can't kill him, not like this!"

"Like hell I can't!" He shouted back, scaring her with the sheer volume. "Scum like him doesn't deserve to even breathe! Someone who couldn't treasure what he had when it wasn't what he was used to shouldn't have even been born!"

"Nadar, let us handle this." Caynz requested, stepping beside Yolko to stand with her. "He's our responsibility, we should be the ones that decides what to do to him."

"He doesn't deserve an option!"

"Please." Nadar was shocked when Schmitt stepped in, standing with his former guild mates in defiance. "We may have not known her IRL, but Griselda was our friend. This whole thing, this is our guild's responsibility. And even though what he did was unforgivable, killing him just justifies what he did. So please, let us deal with him the right way."

Nadar clenched his teeth together, his eyes glowing brighter as he kept a hold of his axe. Eventually though, his body stopped shaking and he lowered his axe, appearing almost defeated as tears still ran down his face. "Get him out of my sight. I don't want to even hear the name Grimlock again, are we clear?"

All three nodded, thanking Nadar as they would pick the fallen player up. And as they walked away, they all turned to bow to the three one last time. Before long, they were gone, and as the sun began to peak out from the horizon the whole forest would be illuminated again.

Nadar's arms would begin to shake again, his eyes dimming back to normal as he dropped his axe. He'd bring his hands up to wipe his tears, but no matter how much he did, he'd only continue to cry. "God… fucking damn… it."

"Nadar?" Hachiman asked, stepping up to him slowly along with Asuna. "Are you… okay?"

"Hachiman… did your… was she into games?" Nadar asked, not able to say the name as he looked down.

Even without saying the name, Hachiman was able to guess who he was referring to, and shook his head. "No, Sara never was a big fan of videogames. She was with me when I got SAO, but she never wanted to get into VRMMOs. And I never pushed her to try them. If she didn't want to play them, then forcing her wouldn't do anything."

"When we get out… fix things with her." Nadar ordered, sounding more like begging as he held his hands over his face.

"I will." Hachiman promised.

Eventually, Nadar was able to calm himself, his tears stopping as he was finally able to wipe them away. Hachiman and Asuna would just wait there patiently for him to recollect himself, neither able to think of anything more to say as he did. For Hachiman, this was the second time he had seen Nadar cry, and knew that for him to cry so uncontrollably it had to be something far more than personal to him. As for Asuna, seeing Aincrad's Executioner lose control of himself in such a way was something she never expected, but respected him enough not to comment on it.

"…You can say whatever you want." Nadar would say weakly, confusing both players. "For one time only… you can say or ask anything you want. I won't say anything annoying or shitty in return. I'll just… listen."

As Nadar closed his eyes, expecting anything to be said from the two, he was surprised when Asuna gave him a gentle, albeit awkward, hug. Nothing was said as she did, just silence as the KoB vice commander tried to comfort the executioner. "You don't have to worry, we won't say anything. Just… go back to who you are. You don't owe us anything."

Nadar remained quiet for several seconds, trying to figure out how he felt over the exchange. But eventually, he relented and sighed. "Let go of me Lightning Flasher, you're starting to send a stupid message."

Both Asuna and Hachiman smiled at his words, the two stepping away to give him some space. "Are you… better now?" Hachiman asked.

"I'm good enough." He responded, rolling his shoulders reflexively. "I just need some time to process things. And maybe… try to bury a few skeletons."

"If you need anything, you can come to us." Asuna spoke.

"Yeah? Well save it for the frontlines when we… we… yaaaaaaaagghhh." Nadar's speech eventually went to a weak yawn, bags forming under his eyes. "Hey… do you guys mind if I call it a day? I didn't get any sleep last night and have been up for almost 40 straight hours."

Both laughed at his request, finding his yawn very out of character. "Sure thing man, go get all the sleep you need. I think you earned it after today."

"Yippee." Nadar cheered with no enthusiasm, turning to walk away.

"Nadar." Asuna called out, getting his attention once more. "What you said earlier, about how special something like love was… it's nice to see that there's a person behind that axe."

"Don't ever bring… it… up?" Nadar trailed off, the end of his sentence turning to a question as he saw something behind the two. A young woman, no older than her mid to late twenties was standing next to the tree, a grave just by her feet. She had short hair, and wore a cloak similar to what Yolko had on, and a faint golden glow around her.

She smiled at Nadar, and for a reason he couldn't explain felt as if she was speaking to him. Thanking him for everything he's done for her friends before vanishing, appearing as if she was never there.

Hachiman and Asuna followed his gaze, seeing the tombstone that rested just at the base of the massive tree. On it read "Griselda, brave warrior and loving wife."

"Oh fuck I'm tired." Nadar groaned as his shoulders slumped down. And just as Asuna and Hachiman turned back to him he completely collapsed, falling to the ground and passing out.

"Hehe, he couldn't even make it ten feet." Hachiman chuckled, walking towards Nadar. "Come on Asuna, I'm going to need a hand carrying him back to the teleport platform."

"Yeah, sure." Asuna nodded, moving to help Hachiman pick the executioner up.

When she knelt down to pick him up, she caught a glimpse of his sleeping face. _'He seems so… innocent.'_ She would think, seeing how at peace he was asleep. _'What could have made you turn out the way you are? Someone who can be so cruel when he's awake but seem so peaceful and cute when he's-!'_ Her last thought made her blush, although she quickly shook her head to get the thought out.

It wasn't right to think like that, not when she didn't know anything about him. And after how mentally and emotionally damaged he must be after today, it would only be cruel to have any different thoughts on him right now.

' _I'm sorry, for whatever happened to you.'_ She'd think as she and Hachiman lifted him up, putting an arm over each of their shoulders before they started to walk.


	12. The Executioner's Sentence

**(A/N): Well, holy shit did this one come out long. over 10,000 words because I couldn't let it end until going all the way through. I hope this is good, because I haven't pumped out a chapter this long out for almost 2 years, near the beginning of my writing career! I hope this is worth it and I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" A man cursed under his breath as he ran. He appeared completely panicked, his eyes constantly darting across the town's buildings as he navigated around it. "He caught on to me faster than planned! If he catches me, then it's all over!"

The man had no special gear, just his default tunic and pants. At his hip was a small dagger, a paralysis effect on it to aid him in his work. Although, he had never needed to use it, most of his heavy lifting done by his contractors. People who he had desperately needed to be here right now.

He had been running for the past twenty minutes now, trying to evade his pursuer. He had never run so fast before in his life, but he was glad that he had invested his points into his Agility. Without it, he would have been caught right off the bat. And as he saw the set of boxes he had placed, he jumped up them before lunging to the roof.

With who is chaser was, he knew that it'd take him a long time to make it up to where he was. Which all it meant now was getting out of town before he was caught. He then pulled out a teleport crystal supplied to him by his boss, knowing that whatever punishment for getting discovered would be far better than what would happen if he caught.

"Teleport Te-AGH!" Before he could teleport away, a throwing knife was thrown into his hand, causing him to drop his crystal.

"I wouldn't make another move if I were you." The man turned slowly as he heard the advice, his eyes widening in fear as he saw Kirito, Sachi and Silica all on the roof, surrounding him with their weapons out. It was then that he learned that his escape route was compromised before he was even discovered, and that he had walked right into a trap.

"Damn executioner, he knew my whole route before confronting me." He grunted as he put his hands up, surrendering to the three players. "I thought he was a reckless hothead type."

"Normally, you'd have been right in assuming that." Kirito responded, pointing his Elucidator at the man as Silica and Sachi slowly approached him. "But considering the tip we got about you, he was willing to let us think of a plan ahead of time."

"Listen, I don't know what they told you, but I don't know anything! They just send me to gather intel and then some random member shows up to hear what I found, I'm being honest!"

"Sounds like a fish is flopping on land." The man's breathing almost stopped as he heard a new voice, and soon after Nadar came walking from his crate pile. "And we haven't even gotten to the fun part yet. Just makes me wonder where they hire guys like you."

"Aincrad's Executioner…"

"I think you know what we're here for, and for your sake you better chirp like a baby bird." Nadar warned, pulling out his axe as he did. "We're just at the edge of the safe zone here, and we both are aware of my moral compass, Schneider."

"I won't say anything!" The man shouted, knowing how bad his situation was if they knew his username. "If I even thought of it… you have no idea what they would do to me!"

"Nothing as bad as I'll do to you." Nadar grinned, his eyes glowing faintly in excitement. "So why don't we start a test or two on it? I've always wondered if you can skin a player in this game."

"You… you wouldn't!"

"Try me."

* * *

"Floor 37." Nadar spoke up as he kicked the doors to the Assault Team's meeting room, catching all of the major guilds in the middle of their plan for the next boss. Kirito and the others were following, appearing off put by Nadar. All it took was a single glance at the executioner to see his cursor was orange, leading to an immediate arise in suspicion among the ranks.

"I'm afraid we are going to need some context Nadar." Heathcliff spoke up, wearing his guild robes rather than his heavy armor. "And I know we've been over this, you can't just barge in here when we're in the middle of a meeting." Among Heathcliff were Asuna and Godfrey, acting as bodyguards for the commander.

"I know, that's why I waited until you were." Nadar responded, walking up to the massive table at the center of the room. When he reached it, he slammed both his hands down on it, hard enough that the **IMMORTAL OBJECT** Warning popped up. "We needed you all in one place to avoid repeating ourselves."

Kirito then walked up next to Nadar, standing with the executioner as the representative of his guild. "We found Laughing Coffin's headquarters, it's in the heart of floor 37's labyrinth, where all of the high level mobs spawn before the boss."

The whole room silent as the guild got everyone's attention. "We've spent the past month searching every single link we could find, and now we finally tracked them down to where they live. The most dangerous guild in all of Aincrad." Nadar spoke as he stood straight up, appearing formal for the first time among the guilds. "But due to our activity, Laughing Coffin's on edge and is likely going to move location to avoid getting caught. And to that, I say hell no."

"You want to go after them? This close to a boss raid?" A man with short blonde hair and blue eyes decked out in silver armor asked. He was Arthur, leader of the Holy Dragon Alliance and one of the top tanks among the players. Besides Nadar and Heathcliff, Arthur had the highest HP at 26,000 with his armor bonus added.

"I'll only need a handful of the Assault Team." Nadar stated, giving the clear answer to the guild leader. "Twenty, thirty players at the most. Enough to even the odds against their forces to wipe them out."

"You're asking for us to send our men to slaughter other players?"

"I'm asking for men to slaughter animals." Nadar corrected, not even flinching at comparing Laughing Coffin to such. "How many players have been killed by them since they formed? Hundreds? And how many will die if we just let them go about their business? These guys are psychopaths that get a thrill out of killing others. They aren't players, they're vermin. A disease that needs to be killed at the source."

"Last time I checked, you have the highest PK count, Executioner." Arthur responded, not dignifying Nadar by calling him by name. "And you certainly don't ever seem upset when we send you on your missions."

"Tell me, what would you prefer running around: killers that kill anyone without cause, or a killer that goes around killing others that are worse than him?" He questioned, glaring to the man as he did. "Question my motives Arthur, but do not question what my end goal is. To kill the scum that would take lives for something as trivial as supposed "strength"."

"I'm not asking you to like me or agree with me. All I'm asking is that you give me the forces to counter them and end this old threat." Nadar would say, looking back up to every guild. "How many of you are willing to stand by me? To stop any more needless killing of innocent players?"

"You can count us in." Klein grinned as he spoke up. "You can count on the full support of the Fuurinkazan to back you up. It's about time we took the fight to them."

"And my party will come too." Schmitt added in, surprising Nadar as he stepped up. "The last time I encountered Laughing Coffin, they were ready to kill both me and my friends. You were the one that showed up and saved us, so I should be there when you go into the heart of this beast. Even if… I might end up a scarecrow with my eyes gouged out and lungs opened up for display."

"Oh relax, you'd just shatter before he could rip your chest open." Nadar assured, smirking at the lancer. "But the offer is appreciated, thank you."

"I will spare two of my guild's parties to assist you as well." Heathcliff offered, surprising everyone and gaining their attention. "One of my best Paladins and another of our expert catchers. I'll even send Asuna with you as a way to fill your party."

"Commander, you cannot be serious." Arthur responded, looking to Heathcliff with confusion. "The boss raid is in two days, we can't waste our resources on something like a headhunt. This is Nadar's field, let him handle killing the players he wants."

"This choice does not come easy Arthur, but there is a reason." Heathcliff intertwined his fingers, placing his elbows on the table as he looked to Nadar. "Nadar, I know it isn't the normal routine of these missions, but I request that you allow anyone who comes with you to try and capture the assassins rather than kill them."

"Hey, if they can get to them before I do, I'll gladly allow them to waste their time." Nadar responded, placing his hands back down on the table as he stared back at the commander. "But let's make this clear, Heathcliff: I will kill any one that I can get close to. And there's no amount of appealing to my good nature that will stop me. Understood."

Heathcliff would smile, entertained by his determination. "Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop to look around, you'll miss it. And I wouldn't want you to miss this."

Arthur would then sigh, looking down as he thought over the current situation. Eventually, he'd relent and speak to Nadar. "I will allow Schmitt's party to assist you, but should any of my men fall in battle you will be held responsible."

"Considering most of your men are Lancers and shield users, if they die to Laughing Coffin assassins they got themselves killed." Nadar shot back, crossing his arms. "But if you feel like that's the only way you can stomach putting your men under my authority, I'll accept it."

"This'll be a dangerous mission Nadar, and for once in your time here you are responsible for the lives of over three dozen players." Arthur warned. "Need I remind you how valuable each player among the Assault Team is? These men are not disposable NPCs or the average merc you get off the street. We are the elite, and we cannot risk losing players for a small vendetta."

"That elitist attitude is the reason I hate your guts the most out of this entire room." Nadar smirked. "Because assholes like you, who need to remind people of how amazing and special they are, are nobodies outside of this world. And being strong is here is the only real achievement you have that you can pat your back on." Nadar then stepped away from the table, glaring at the Tank. "And this is more than a vendetta, I may be selfish but don't think for a second this is simply because they tried to kill me months ago. There is much more riding on this, and I will make sure that every murder in SAO will face justice."

The executioner than looked to his leader. "They like putting this on me, but I should clear it with you if I can lead this one. I know how much you like being in the spotlight."

"Hey, this was your plan." Kirito smirked as he held his hands in mock defense. "I think it's fair that you take charge for this kind of mission. Just… don't go overboard okay?" He asked, giving Nadar a concerned glance. "You'll have all of us there to back you up, so don't try to take them all on alone."

"No promises." He responded. Nadar would then look back to the Assault Team, narrowing his eyes. "We move out in an hour, anyone who doesn't make it in time is left behind, understood?"

* * *

"This is going to be hell, isn't it?" Kirito asked, walking next to Nadar, Silica, Sachi and Asuna through town.

"At best that's the most accurate it'll be." The executioner returned, browsing his items as they walked. "In all honesty, depending on how prepared Laughing Coffin's going to be ready for us is what'll be the determining factor. If PoH has enough time to think of a counter attack we'll be in for a world of trouble."

"Putting it rather lightly Bro." Sachi responded. "I'm not sure if you remember this, but not all of us have enough health to 1v40 assassins and come out alive. An assassin from their top ranks could probably kill eight of us before we can apprehend him."

"Kill 'im. It's easier."

"We can't just kill them Nadar." Silica stated, looking up to him as she did. "If we go so low as to kill them, then we're no better than the rest of them."

"I'm pretty sure killing a murderer is a good thing."

"If you kill a killer, the number of killers remains the same."

"Oh Sili." Nadar smiled, placing a hand on her head. "Just kill more than one, the numbers will fix themselves after number two."

"That wasn't the point!" Silica whined, shaking her arms in the air. Nadar could only chuckle in response, rubbing her head as she threw her fit.

"I know."

"So Nadar, what are we expecting to learn from Hachiman?" Asuna asked, keeping the guild on track. "You said he had some information for you, I can only assume it involves Laughing Coffin."

"Right, I guess I should tell you." Nadar said as he removed his hand from Silica's head. "After the whole "Murder in a Safe Zone" fiasco, that you and Hachiman bought like idiots I would like to add, he's been helping us get as much dirt on them as possible. He's actually the one who pointed us to our last source, and his latest search was to find out who's been supplying them."

"Supplying them?" Asuna echoed.

"Laughing Coffin's gotten better tier gear over the past couple of months, despite never going to the upper floors." Kirito explained. "Just about a week ago two of them tried to jump me and Sachi, and they had weapons you can only get on floor 60."

"And they were both were able to do damage similar to level 68 players." Sachi added in, recalling the event. "Those two were some of the toughest PKers I've ever fought. I wasn't expecting them to be able to fight for as long as they did."

"And after they told us, Hachiman learned that someone's been giving them col to level up and weapons to keep up with them." Silica finished.

"Someone giving murders resources… I can't believe it." Asuna whispered, looking down as she did. "Why would someone do such a thing? Every death in here is as real back in real life. Who would be so cold?"

"Well with any luck, we'll find out soon." Nadar responded, turning to face the meeting place. A small pub just outside of the headquarters. Opening the door, the whole team would see Hachiman sitting at the biggest table in the place, enough space for everyone to sit. The Lancer had a disappointed look, which was reflected by Nadar as they sat. "I don't like that look."

"And you'll hate the reason." Hachiman added, slamming his mug down after taking a gulp. "I couldn't find the identity of Laughing Coffin's main supplier, and all of the smaller ones are unaware of where their funds are actually going."

"Did you figure anything out?" Kirito asked. "Maybe not their name, but do you have any idea what position in Aincrad they might have? Anywhere we could start?"

"They're a high level player who has access to a ton of funding, I can say that much." Hachiman detailed, looking over to the swordsman. "All of the weapon merchants that had accepted funds from him detail an armored figure in all black armor, a long sword and a tower shield. He had long black hair and grey eyes, and a pale complexion."

"So if Heathcliff and Kirito had a lovechild, got it." Nadar summed up, getting a disgusted response from Kirito. "But there's a small problem with that description."

Hachiman nodded in agreement, looking down to his mug as he spoke. "To be a high enough level to have those funds, they definitely have to be a member of the Assault Team, and a guild leader at that. But no one fits the description that I was given."

"Not to mention whoever you talked to could be lying." Asuna added in, getting a round of nods from the table. "So we essentially have no clue who could possibly be supplying them with high-tier loot and gear."

"Yeah, no one in the Assault Team could possibly profit from doing work with Laughing Coffin, but there's no doubt that one of the big guilds are giving them the equipment." Hachiman sighed, crossing his arms as he leaned back. "And there's no telling if the whole guild is involved or just the leader."

"Doesn't matter in the end, just means more people to kill." Nadar shrugged, not appearing too affected over the lack of news. "Regardless of the news, we're still going to be attacking Laughing Coffin. We have a space open in our group, care to join Hachiman?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

After the hour had passed, the entire raid party from the Assault Team was making their way through floor 37. At the front was Nadar, Asuna, Klein and Schmitt, the four acting as representatives for their guilds and leading the way effectively. It had only taken the group five minutes to make their way through the dungeon before reaching just outside of Laughing Coffin's hideout.

Deciding they were close enough, Nadar held his hand out to the bulk of the raid party, stopping to give one last refresh on everything they know. "Alright everyone, the base is just across the platforms. Remember, we're dealing with professional killers, likely with a minimum of 50 kills each. Your guild leaders have given you orders to bring in as many alive as you can, and if you follow with it then good for you. But if you think one of them will kill you or refuses to surrender no matter what, do not hesitate to kill them. Because I can promise that they will not hesitate to kill each and every one of you."

"We are unaware of the new average level of the guild, but Kirito and Sachi had fought against two that were somewhere close to level 68. And considering they didn't do too much damage to them, I can only assume they're grunts. I'd wager they're somewhere around level 72 or slightly higher. Which while that puts them around 20 levels below our average, do not underestimate their damage output. These guys are experts, and have high Strength, Dexterity and Agility. They will do damage, and they will go in for the kill. Hesitation by any extent will result in death, do I make myself clear?"

When no one spoke up, he nodded and looked over to his fellow leaders. "Remember, I'm to deal with Red-Eyed XaXa, Black, and PoH if any of them appear on the field. Do not let anyone in your division attempt to fight them, because they will die. There's no discussion on that much."

"What if you're busy fighting other members?" Schmitt asked.

"I'll make time." Nadar responded. "But if it comes down to it I'm distracted by too many, no less than three players are to combat a single one of them. Any less and they're dead meat."

"This is the definition of a bummer speech, you know that?" Klein spoke, looking down to Nadar. "You could at least try to say something positive before we run head first into the lair of the most dangerous guild."

"Last long enough and I'll kill all of them for you."

"Okay… not better but it's an attempt, and I respect you for that."

Before Nadar could say something back, he was cut off as a knife flew past his face and cut across his forehead. Everyone turned up to see all of Laughing Coffin on the floating platforms around them, preparing to lunge at the stunned players. The whole dungeon was silent as they took their leaps, Nadar being the first one to pull his weapon out.

"AMBUSH!"

With a swing of his arms his axe collided against the lead assassin's sword, causing a loud ringing from the metals colliding. The sound snapped the raid party out of their stunned shock before they all unsheathed their weapons, charging at the murderers as they landed.

Chaos would shortly ensue, the shouts and screams of players fighting only drowned out by the constant clashing of weapons. Not a single player was able to avoid combat as the murderers and frontline fighters all fought at random. At one second they'd be blocking an attack, and the next there would be constant counters being sent out.

Due to the utter confusion and surprise of the ambush, all of the established teams had mostly been separated, only the KoB parties managing to hold formation amongst the fighting.

"Where are your leaders!?" Nadar demanded as he slashed across two Laughing Coffin members, dropping their health into the red with a single attack. "Rat them out and you'll get a peaceful death!"

"Aincrad's Executioner, we've been expecting you for some time now." One of the two grinned, clenching his knife tightly as his eyes widened in insanity. "There's quite the reward on your head, and it's rumored that you're one of the most unkillable players in SAO."

"Not to mention what the bosses say about you." The other brought up, pointing his sword to the executioner. "About how damaging it is for you to keep up such fake strength."

"If your next words don't tell me where they are, I will rip you both in half!"

"It'd be a mercy compared what you did Serana."

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

Nadar completely snapped, the mere mention of the name being all it took to break his limited control. And as he grabbed onto one of their necks, he blocked the other's attack without looking, his eyes glowing bright red as he stared at the one in his grasp. "Which one of you told you her name!?"

"Bro?" Sachi paused in the midst of combat, turning to where his shouting came from. She was then quickly brought back into focus as an assassin rushed her, barely blocking the blade with her sword.

"Well, well, Lookie who I found." XaXa grinned underneath his skull mask, his red eyes glowing brighter as he pressed on in his attack. "The infamous Aincrad's Executioner's precious little sister!"

"XaXa!" Sachi glared as she broke off from him, quickly running back towards him and slashing at his head. He easily ducked under and jabbed his estoc at her, to which she parried and brought her knee up, striking his face and stunning him. As she was about to land an attack, he shot his arm out and blocked it, sparks dancing across their blades as they fought against one another. "Give up now, otherwise I can't promise that Nadar will give you the courtesy."

"Pathetic, thinking I'll give up just because you asked." XaXa spat as he slid his blade across hers, getting a quick cut on her cheek before she reacted. "You're not on the frontlines anymore girlie! Welcome to the league of deception and betrayal!" He then landed several more swift cuts before Sachi retaliated, hitting him in the middle of his last attack. "You want to win, you gotta kill! Show me the strength your worthless brother taught you!"

"Don't call Nadar worthless!" Sachi shouted back, readying a sword skill as she ran at the assassin.

"Ahahahahahaha! Dance little girl, dance!" Johnny Black would laugh as he threw two knives at Silica, who would manage to dodge the projectiles by jumping back. As she did, two assassins armed with swords tried to attack her from behind. But before they could land their attacks she slid underneath them.

The moment she was past them, her dagger glowed to life and she landed two attacks on each of their backs before they collapsed to the ground. "Huh?" Johnny Black hummed in minor confusion, seeing the two go down despite having plenty of health left.

"You aren't the only one who's mastered paralysis poison." Silica spoke as she reached into her pouch, and in the next second threw four knives at the assassin at once.

Johnny Black wouldn't even blink as he used his dagger to knock all of them away, slashing up to block Silica before she could attack him. "Oh now we're talking! A good ole' mirror match between poisoned dagger users! Now ain't that the shit!?"

"Nadar's right, you are extremely vulgar." Silica would comment as she spun her dagger in her hand, holding it in a reverse grip as the two would trade attacks. Each one was careful to avoid getting cut, as one single successful attack would leave them helpless to the other.

As Silica would jump back to disengage, Johnny Black would lunge to catch her, preparing a skill as he did. "You're not going to get away that easy!"

 _"Kree!"_ Just as he was about to reach her, Pina suddenly flew right into his face and stopped him. Digging her claws into his face, the small dragon would hold on tight as he would try to rip her off of his face, finding difficulty doing so.

"God! Fucking! Dragon shit!" He would curse as he would finally pry Pina off of him, throwing the dragon to the side to see Silica right in front of him with a skill ready. He showed quick reaction timing however, and managed to activate the same skill and counter each of her attacks with his own. The two would separate shortly after, Pina now flying next to Silica as they readied themselves. "Now that's fighting fucking dirty, ain't it?"

"Nadar warned all of us to fight just as dirty as you." She'd respond, pulling three more throwing knives out of her pouch. "That the only way to have a chance against you was to do whatever it took to win. And Pina and I won't hold anything back to take you down!"

"Awww man, if only you were a few years older. You're like my twisted soul mate!" Johnny Black laughed as he charged her again, pulling out his own throwing knives as she threw hers. As the three projectiles collided, their daggers would meet soon after, both glowing bright green from their Agility skills.

* * *

Across the battlefield, Kirito was blocking attacks from two separate assassins, dodging quickly before retaliating and striking them across their chests. They were quick to lunge at him, but before they could even get close he maneuvered around them and slashed their legs, cutting all of them off in one single swing.

"Stay down, it'll be better for you that way." Kirito would say, keeping an eye on them as two KoB catchers moved in to tie them up. Although he couldn't tell how the rest of the fights were going, he knew these were the first of Laughing Coffin to be captured. And if the several shatters throughout the dungeon were anything to go by, he'd assume that Nadar's killed more than a few by now.

"Sir, watch out!"

When one of the catchers called out to him, Kirito quickly turned and held his sword out horizontally, blocking PoH's cleaver. The two stared at each other for only a second before they separated, going several paces back to get a distance from one another.

"The Black Swordsman, Kirito." PoH stated, knowing who he was by reputation alone. "What an interesting situation to find yourself in, fighting a guild of murderers."

"It's not the first thing I'd consider." Kirito responded, rushing forward and slashing at the guild leader, missing just barely as he dodged. He then brought his sword back and blocked an attack from him, pushing against him and knocking him back. "But this means a lot to Nadar, and I know that if the situation was reversed, he'd have my back."

PoH would chuckle as the swordsman ran at him again, blocking and parrying several of his attacks as he kept moving. "Such a poor placement of faith, believing in someone who'd betray his friends to avoid blame." He'd comment, knocking Kirito's sword to the side and slashing at his chest. The swordsman was able to dodge, bringing his sword back for a diagonal slash aimed at PoH's side.

The assassin was able to block the attack, but still suffered damage as the force knocked him back. As he regained his footing, Kirito would glare at him with intent, getting into his stance as he prepared himself. "Don't think for even a second that you know who Nadar is. He'd never betray us."

"You know, she used to think the same." PoH smirked, confusing Kirito as he readied his cleaver. "Do you honestly think someone like Nadar came into this game alone? Someone so broken and obsessed with power?" Running forward, Kirito's sword and his cleaver would collide, dozens of sparks going off as they pushed their blades against each other. "He had a party long before he even met you. And because of what happened he's been guilty because of the horrible act he did!"

Kirito would try to ignore the man's words, but as he pushed back against him PoH would stare right into his eyes. "Why do you think he was so willing to be a part of your guild? It isn't because he wants to avoid being alone, he's always been used to that idea I can guarantee that. No, it's for a much more selfish and cruel reason, one that makes all of you and her worthless."

That caused Kirito to glare, activating a sword skill and breaking through PoH's defense. The attack managed to take off a quarter of his health, having caught him off guard. "You don't know anything about him!"

"I know more about him than you." PoH would respond, putting his hand to his chest as the wound healed. "After all, he still hasn't told you anything about Serana. And why would he? You're all just a temporary stand in for the only person he actually cared about. You're nothing to him, both you and the few people he works with. And that's all you ever will be to him."

Kirito would only hold a smoldering glare at PoH, rushing at him as he readied another sword skill. And as their weapons collided once more, both would feel the full force of the impact and cause a gust of wind to spread around them. Even though PoH wasn't the best fighter in Laughing Coffin, his strength and speed were nothing to scoff at. And he knew better than to drop his guard around Kirito again, with his reputation as the most powerful swordsman on the frontlines.

* * *

The battle between Laughing Coffin and the raid party had been going on for nearly ten minutes now. And in the center of the fighting, Nadar had taken out at least twelve of the assassins. And currently, he was midway through cutting across another one, destroying his weapon and dropping his health into the red.

Once the move was done, he grabbed the player by his throat and slammed him to the ground, pressing his axe against the base of his throat to keep him down. As Nadar was glaring in anger, his opponent couldn't help but smirk and laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Tell me executioner, how many of us have died so far?" The assassin asked.

"You'll make thirteen." He answered, standing up and putting his foot down on the other end of his axe.

Just as he stomped down to take the player's head off, he gave one last chuckle. "The unlucky number. And the signal." His last glance was to a platform several meters in the air, signaling to Nadar something was coming.

The moment the player shattered, Nadar looked to the platform and was caught off guard as several heavily armed players jumped from it. All were covered in pitch-black armor, a varying of heavy weapons upon each one. The one at the lead of the group, however, matched the details given about Laughing Coffin's supplier.

Nadar was forced to jump away from his axe, catching the hilt with his foot and pulling it with him as the Paladin assassin landed. Flipping it up, he caught it and blocked a slash from him, being able to take the impact. But he could feel it, this assassin was a much higher level than all the others, at least near the top of the Assault Team.

Breaking off from him, Nadar would duck as another armored assassin tried to hit him, using a great sword with surprising force. With him open, Nadar brought his axe up and cut at the assassin's chest, dealing enough force to knock him back towards the Paladin. As he did, two swordsmen rushed him, forcing him to block both of them simultaneously and get pushed back by them. And before he could retaliate, the last two of the armored group, two one-handed axe wielders struck at him, hitting him hard enough to send him skidding back.

The damage wasn't bad, but he had taken a noticeable drop in health compared to the attacks of every other assassin. "So, we got our secret supplier and his elite team, huh? Gotta say, I wasn't expecting you to be dumb enough to have their backs when I promised to kill all of them." Nadar grinned as he pointed his axe at them. "You must all have pretty big egos. That or you want to die so badly by my hand."

"Once again, the infamous Executioner feels that his words carry any weight amongst us." The lead Paladin responded, grinning under his helmet as he did. "Fools like you are what really throws this game out of balance. Going on a headhunt like this would solve nothing in the long run. Murder will come, as long as there's motive and profit to be gained. You doing this only makes it more difficult to get professionals on the job, just like everything else you do."

"Wow you are bad at keeping things simple." Nadar commented. "I mean, it just makes you so much easier to figure out. You having to be all intimidating a berating literally gave me who you are, your level, and how you got all the resources to supply Laughing Coffin."

"Huh?" The player questioned, caught off guard by Nadar's response to him.

"I mean, did you even think to change how you refer to me? Or do you forget I'm the only person on the frontlines who calls out all of the idiots for the dumbass moves made?" Nadar questioned. "So why don't I set the list up now? Arthur, level 78, Holy Dragon Alliance leader and captain of the Assault Team." Nadar then smirked as the player took a step back, feeling the sweat down his face. "You've been using the guild's treasury to get the equipment and EXP boosters for Laughing Coffin to prepare them for this attack. And if I were to guess why, you've been using Laughing Coffin to ready your forces to become stronger and surpass the KoB. Am I correct?"

"Almost… clever bastard." Arthur admitted, taking his helmet off. "Laughing Coffin was meant to take care of you and Hachiman, to remove the two biggest thorns out of my side."

"Okay, me I get. But why Hachiman?"

"You believe that you have absolutely no say in the planning, but with Hachiman practically the commander's head advisor that's far from the truth." Arthur explained. "He takes in what you've said in pass boss battles, and finds a compromise in them. Both of you completely undermine the time and effort of becoming a guild leader, and the power behind it!"

"Well I mean, Hachiman's a Beta tester and I'm a regular based player. The fact my ridicule means anything indicates how fucking hopeless we've been this whole time. And effort and power? Dude your guild has some of the biggest excuses of front line fighters there are, I mean for fuck's sake you accepted Schmitt into your ranks."

"Hey!"

"What's more, is that you clearly don't understand how little I care about the regulations bastards like you set." Nadar stated, ignoring Schmitt's call out as he readied his axe. "Because at the end of it, you're just a coward who likes to hide behind large numbers. You have almost double the KoB's players, but do a quarter of the work during boss raids. And then let a nobody from the smallest frontline guild get to you, it paints the exact picture I had of you."

"But now? Now I realized how worse you are." Nadar growled, his eyes glowing as he glared at Arthur. "You've been using murders to get yourself further, and pushing down your own guild to get ahead. You're nothing more than a traitor, scum that needs to be wiped out from existence."

"That's rather rich, coming from someone who killed his best friend." Arthur grinned as Nadar paused, his eyes widening in a mixture of shock and rage. "Surprised? PoH let me in on that little information when I had hired this guild to target you. About how you oh so willing killed her, all to get some buddy points with people who you barely even knew."

"Pick your words carefully." Nadar said, ominously calmly as his eyes remained open. "Otherwise, I can't guarantee you'll make it out of here with a head. Traitors are meant to be brought back to the Assault Team for proper judgment, but I can be quite the rule breaker as you know."

"Oh, and there's that false bravado you always show. PoH had also brought up something very interesting about that. How it was all just a fun little thing you did when there was no risk involved. Because of how much of a coward in the real world you are, you're able to be like any other shit poster with a keyboard on the Internet. I wonder, is that pathetic outlook the reason Serana pitied you? And for all that attempt at being your friend, it all ended with a single-"

Having heard enough, Nadar lunged forward at the two axe wielders and cut at them, chopping their arms off with two swings. They weren't even able to react from the pain as Nadar swung high, slashing through their necks and cleaving their heads right off. And as they shattered, Nadar was seen in a different light. His eyes were now utterly bursting with rage, and the weight from his axe seemed to not even affect him anymore as he walked towards the four armored players.

"You know Arthur, I think you forgot something again." Nadar commented, swiping his axe to his right to cleave one of the assassins trying to surprise him in half. "Getting me mad, is the last thing that you want to do. Because unlike all the "shit posters" you related me to, there's a major difference."

He then planted both of his feet to the ground and lunged out, raising his axe to attack. "I won't hesitate to kill every single bastard that pisses me off!"

* * *

"Tell me Black Swordsman, do you know what the name Serana means to Nadar?" PoH would ask, the two both now in the yellow health from their duel.

"He never talks about it, and that's all there is to it." Kirito responded, never having heard of the name before.

"Oh, but the name means so much more than that." The assassin chuckled, waving his hand nonchalantly as he spoke. "It belonged to someone he knew, someone he had cared about. Someone so important to him, that people like you don't even register close to the compassion he felt for her. Just as I said before, you're nothing but replacements, a hope that he thinks can be used to forget his own pain. But as it stands, he clearly doesn't care enough to protect all of you."

"Nadar trusts that we can handle ourselves in any fight we come across, just as we do with him. But even then, we'll jump in and help each other without a moment's hesitation."

"Do you really think so?" PoH asked, looking past Kirito. "Because as I see it, he appears to have something better to do then help them." Looking to where he was staring, Kirito stared in shock as Sachi and Silica were being pushed back, XaXa and Johnny Black having gained the upper hand during the fight. "XaXa and Johnny Black have always been the fighters in the guild, I doubt many of your Assault Team would have a hard time fighting them before our leveling. But thanks to our gifts, your guildmates don't stand a chance. Nadar knows this, but yet he isn't anywhere to be seen."

"Sachi!" Completely ignoring PoH, Kirito turned to ready himself, seeing Johnny Black get a lucky cut on Silica. And with it, she fell to the ground paralyzed, leaving Sachi against the two on her own.

"You don't stand any more of a chance then they do, especially if the two work together." PoH stated, opening his menu and selecting a teleport crystal. "Of course, you can always guarantee getting me, but then what would happen to those two? And if you go to save them, then what will Nadar think of you leaving me without detainment?" Kirito then began to sweat as he realized the situation. He knew saving Sachi and Silica would take priority, but if PoH escapes they're leaving the most dangerous of the entire murder guild free.

"You're time is short, Black Swordsman. Make your choice: save the girls, or capture me?"

When PoH left him with the choice, Kirito swallowed the spit in his throat and made his decision. Opening his menu, he'd begin to navigate through his items as he ran forward, leaving PoH behind as he did. "Hmph, so that's why." He chuckled once as he used his teleport crystal, escaping from the raid party.

"End of the line you two." XaXa stated as he pointed his estoc at Sachi, the swordswomen standing defensively in front of Silica as Pina healed the downed player.

"Not gonna lie, you're by far some of the most fun targets I've had to go against." Johnny Black said, twisting his dagger between his fingers as he grinned at them. "Too bad we gotta kill ya, we sorta have a "No Survivors" policy. And just cause you're fun doesn't mean you're not a part of that policy."

"If you think we're going down that easy, you have another thing coming." Sachi responded, lifting her sword before rushing out to attack. "We've come too far to just die here! Not to murderers like you!"

XaXa was the one to return the attack, dodging her blade and landing several cuts across her body. She was able to slash down and cut his chest, but he quickly brought his estoc up and cut her cheek, surprising her with his recovery. "You cannot stop what those with true power dictate. If we want you to bleed, you bleed. If we want you gone, you're going to be gone."

"Long story short, you're gonna die!" Johnny Black laughed as he ran up to her as she was distracted with XaXa, stabbing her gut and knocking her back.

The paralysis logo then appeared next to Sachi's health, which had dipped into the red health after the combined attacks of the two assassins. Silica looked up in fear as the swordswoman fell to the ground, reaching out to her in a vain attempt to help. "Sachi…"

"You never had a chance to begin with." XaXa stated as he stepped over Sachi, pointing his estoc at her throat. "And now, it's show time!"

"Get away from her!" Kirito shouted as he ran right at XaXa, selecting something on his menu and letting it disappear. Just as he reached the assassin, he slashed his Elucidator forward, hitting XaXa's estoc as he managed to block in time.

"Big mistake buddy!" Johnny Black shouted as he lunged forward, aiming to hit Kirito as he was clashed with XaXa. But as he approached, Kirito reached behind his back when a second sword holster appeared on his back, surprising the assassins when he grabbed the second sword's hilt.

And before Johnny Black could react, Kirito unsheathed the sword and slashed it forward, striking Johnny Black and knocking him back. XaXa was left stunned at seeing the Black Swordsman wielding two swords and was hit by said swordsman, sending him sliding back from the impact.

Both assassins got back up and stared at Kirito as he stood at the ready, wielding both his Elucidator and Guilty Thorn. After the situation with Yolko and Caynz, Nadar had approached Kirito with the blade and told him to leave it in his offhand storage incase his black blade was ever destroyed. But for Kirito, he had a much better plan for it. Just a week before Nadar gave him it, Kirito had discovered a random skill had appeared in his Skills List: Dual-Wielding.

He had yet to reveal the skill to everyone else, hence why both Sachi and Silica were looking at him in complete shock. But he would have to put explanations behind him for now, as he had Laughing Coffins most dangerous assassins glaring right at him at the moment. "If you know what's good for you, you'll surrender yourselves right now. Prison is a lot better alternative to dying."

"You think I'm going to listen to you?" XaXa questioned. "Someone who has no true power other than holding two swords? I won't lose to scum like you, and prove why my power is absolute!"

"Hehe, I'm just fighting for fun!" Johnny Black explained as the two assassins ran at Kirito, who rushed at them in turn. As the assassins' blades began to glow green, Kirito's swords exploded with blue as he attacked simultaneously, parrying both of them and landing a blow on each.

The two would recover and strike at Kirito, who managed to block Johnny Black while tanking through XaXa's attack. And in return he slashed with both blades at XaXa, knocking him back before ducking under Johnny Black's follow up attack. He'd then slash up with Guilty Thorn, going up the assassin's chest before spinning and cutting across his chest horizontally. And as he landed back on his feet, he sent a quick jab at him, impacting him with enough force to send him flying back.

Sensing XaXa approaching from behind, Kirito positioned his Elucidator behind his back, blocking his jab with the flat of his blade. As he heard XaXa growl in anger, he'd spin back to face him, cutting across his stomach in a low strike before jabbing up with Guilty Thorn, knocking him back several steps. As he recovered and lunged back at Kirito, Johnny Black would appear from behind him, already mid swing.

Kirito didn't show any concern as he turned and blocked both of their attacks, redirecting XaXa's estoc to hit Johnny Black in the chest and knock him away. XaXa was unable to get away in time as Kirito trapped his sword with both of his, pulling him closer before slashing out with his Elucidator. The impact was even greater than before, showing that Kirito's attacks were getting more powerful with each one.

It was then that XaXa realized that Kirito's swords were still glowing, signaling the continuous skill that was going on. XaXa snarled at the idea of such a lasting ability, determined to defeat it before the Black Swordsman could even think of achieving victory. When they were both ready, Johnny Black and XaXa readied Strength skills, their blades glowing a dark red when they charged right at Kirito. "Dual-wielding or not, no one with your Strength stat can block two Power moves at once!"

Kirito would only glare with determination, his whole body moving along with the programing as he spun fast on his heels. Striking at Johnny Black first, Guilty Thorn would hit his dagger up and out of his hand, his Elucidator slashing at his stomach and dropping his health into the red just after finishing the swing.

And following the momentum, Kirito swung down with his Elucidator, knocking XaXa's estoc to the ground before leaping into the air and striking him with both swords at once. Due to his position, XaXa's right arm was cut off by Guilty Thorn, and with the Elucidator cutting diagonally across his whole abdomen, he was sent crashing back to the ground with barely any health left.

When Kirito's feet touched the ground again, he'd point the tips of his blades at the two's throats, stopping them from being able to move. "You've both lost, you can't keep up with me at this point. Just give up and you'll both live." Giving emphasis into his warning, he jabbed the tips just an inch away from the assassins' necks, showing his intent. "Be reasonable here, going to prison is better than dying. So just surrender."

"I'll remember this, Black Swordsman." XaXa promised as the two raised their hands in surrender, two of Klein's friends running up and getting them tied up. Everyone had questions as to why Kirito was armed with two swords at once, but they knew that as long as they were in the middle of a fight they couldn't stop to question it.

Kirito would then sheathe both of his swords and run over to Sachi and Silica, kneeling next to them while pulling out two antidote crystals. "Cure!" With a single order, the two's paralysis dispersed, allowing them to get up. Before Sachi full sat up however, Kirito pulled her into a hug, relieved that she was safe. "I'm sorry it took me so long, if I knew you were fighting two of the top assassins I would have…"

"It's okay Kirito." Sachi smiled, hugging him back. "I knew that you or Nadar would have gotten to us in time. After everything we've been through I knew you had my back."

"Right… me or Nadar…" Kirito said, appearing bothered by mentioning the executioner. PoH's words echoed in his head, and it made him think about how Nadar wasn't even nearby while Sachi and Silica were both close to death.

"Say, where is Bro?" Sachi asked, looking around from her position. "I lost sight of him after the fighting had started."

"That's right!" Silica realized, remembering when they were ambushed. "Nadar was right in the middle of the fighting, I forgot amongst all of the chaos."

"Well let's look around and…" Kirito started to say before looking up, seeing that the fighting had almost been completely stopped. He could barely see any Laughing Coffin members, no more than the amount they had currently captured. But even then, he saw that players had almost gathered around a single fight, given by the lack of metal colliding against metal.

The three players would get up and move to the crowd, pushing past it until they saw Klein and Asuna, both looking in a mix of fear and shock at the fight being watched. "Klein? What's wrong, is someone-" Silica gasped in the midst of her sentence when the three made it to them, now having a full view of what everyone was watching.

Nadar was currently standing in exhaust, his health dangerously in the red with only 2% remaining. But even then, there were dozens of weapons littered around him, all belonging to former Laughing Coffin players. And in front of him was Arthur, his armor almost completely destroyed. Arthur's shield and sword were knocked away from him, with the former being destroyed from blocking one of Nadar's deranged swings.

Even with his exhaustion, Nadar's eyes were still wide in rage, the fire still burning bright as he began to walk towards Arthur. "What's the… matter bud? Feeling shy all of… a sudden? Your special sword… not deeming you… worthy?"

Arthur was sweating in nervousness as Nadar approached him. Even with his elite players and almost the entire Laughing Coffin strength trying to stop him, it had only served to piss him off more. He knew that Nadar was a monster from what he heard in all the reports, but to think he could decimate this many players seemed impossible. And with the clear threat of death, he did what he felt was the only sensible thing and put his hands up in surrender. "I yield! Take me in to face my punishment!"

Schmitt was the one to take a step forward, glaring as he readied rope to tie him up before Nadar's axe impaled itself right at his feet, stopping him cold in his tracks. When he and everyone else looked to the executioner, his eyes were glowing bright in hostility. "Take another step forward, and I will be the one that turns you into a meat toboggan!" The threat sent its message to the Lancer, who took several steps back in fear.

Nadar turned his attention back to Arthur, who swallowed a lump of spit as the executioner continued his approach. "Nothing is going to save you after everything you've said. I'm not letting you get away, not with what you've done and claimed!"

"Nadar you ca-" Sachi moved to try and calm Nadar, but was stopped as Hachiman grabbed her shoulder, shaking his head. "Hachiman?"

"Don't intervene." He simple stated, crossing his arms as he looked back to the executioner. "Arthur's dug his grave already, he doesn't deserve a chance to get out."

"But Hachiman, he surrendered." Silica said, trying to reason with the spearman. "It's wrong for us to just stand by."

"It was also wrong for Arthur to psychologically damage Nadar as far as he has." Hachiman responded, looking down to Silica. "I wasn't there to hear the whole thing, but I heard enough to know that Nadar's too far right now to be reasoned with. He has to decide this Silica, it won't be fixed any other way."

"Come now Nadar, let's be reasonable here." Arthur tried to reason, taking steps back in caution. "You don't think Serana would want you to kill someone who's surrendered, do you?"

"You don't know when to shut your god damn mouth!" Nadar shouted, snarling his teeth at the Paladin. "It's about some time that someone taught you when to shut the fuck up!"

 _'That name again. Serana.'_ Kirito thought as he looked at Nadar, seeing the absolute fury that was glowing in his eyes. He was certain that whoever it was, was close to the executioner, and was why Nadar went into his bloodlust.

The same bloodlust that had him simply ignore Sachi and Silica in danger.

Kirito unsheathed both his swords and began to walk out, confusing everyone as he did. "Kirito?" Sachi questioned as he walked, not getting a response as he did.

' _Oh this isn't going to end well.'_ Hachiman thought, hiding his concern.

When Kirito stopped, he was between Nadar and Arthur, standing ready with both his swords raised. "Kirito? What are you doing?" Nadar asked, his anger disappearing for a second. "What's with the two swords? And why are you getting between me and Arthur?"

"Do you know that Sachi and Silica almost died?" Kirito asked, giving Nadar his own glare to stand up to the player. His stance was firm, not showing any sign of fear like he normally did when Nadar was angry.

"W-What?"

"While you were busy getting angry at whatever Arthur said, Sachi and Silica were nearly killed by two of Laughing Coffin's top assassins." Kirito explained. "They had complete faith that you and I would save them, but I was the only one that saw them! You were too busy fighting because of someone who said a name you didn't want to hear!"

Nadar's eyes went back to being wide in rage, that anger now focused on Kirito. "Listen here you fucking edgy, fidget-spinner wearing son of a whore, you are currently on the thinnest layer of ice in your god damn life. All that shit I've shown while you were getting close to Sachi, what I do next may be the fucking most agonizing pain you'll have ever felt in your know-it-all shit life. And I will do it without fucking blinking." He then took two steps closer to Kirito, his whole body reaching its boiling point. "So move out of my fucking way, before I do something that Sachi will hate me for the rest of her life."

"Not until you tell me who she is." Kirito stated, keeping a composed stance as he stood his ground.

"I'd rip your guts out before even speaking her name." Nadar spat, taking two more steps to the Black Swordsman. The two were now just over a meter apart, and the whole raid party now detected the anger from both. "Now. Move."

"You'll have to make me."

"Fine." Nadar responded. "If that's what it takes."

It all then happened so fast, the sound of the entire dungeon disappearing for the next few seconds. Nadar had stepped forward, seeming ready to attack Kirito while his arm glowed with a punch being readied. Kirito held his swords ready, just about to start a swing when he saw Nadar's eyes widen in shock.

The action confused Kirito, almost snapping him into reality that he was preparing to attack his friend who wouldn't survive a combo from his Dual-Wielding. And as he lowered his swords, willing to take whatever punch came, he was shocked when Nadar pushed him to the side, his fist dimming out as he tried to stop. As Kirito lost his footing, he turned in the air to see Nadar take a sword to his chest, Arthur having lunged to try and take out Kirito while his back was turned.

He and everyone stared in horror as Nadar's health dropped to 0, his health bar disappearing as his body began to faze. He slowly looked over to his friends, a mix of fear and panic in his eyes. "Klein, the-!" And without enough time to speak, the executioner shattered, his whole body vanishing as if it was never there.

Kirito, Sachi, Silica all stared in complete horror as they same him disappear, their eyes instantly filling with tears as the whole situation began to process in their heads. Asuna was soon to follow, her hands going to her mouth to contain herself. All of them were shaking as they watched the person they had spent so long with completely vanish. Not even a trace left from him as his shards slowly began to fall to the ground.

' _What… what have I done?'_

"Bro!"

"Nooooo!"

"Nadar!"

Sachi, Silica and Asuna cried out as Kirito looked at his hands in horror. They were shaking violently as his heart rate spiked rapidly, seeing blood covering his hands. He couldn't control himself as his tears fell, hating himself over letting PoH get into his head. _'E-Even when I questioned him, stood against him, ready to attack him! He… he… he…'_

"You bastard!" Hachiman was staring wide in rage, grabbing his javelin and planting his feet as he readied a skill. Tears were going down his face as well, but unlike the others he was able to react enough to fight. Never before had Hachiman ever been so angry, but seeing Nadar die just before his eyes sent him over the edge.

"REVIVE!" But before he could make a move, Klein shot his arm forward, shouting at the top of his lungs. In his hand was a blue crystal sphere, one that upon seeing it both Hachiman and Kirito stared in shock.

The crystal then shattered, the shards rushing to where Nadar once stood before exploding in golden light. The shards then began to slowly reform and take shape, mixing with the still remaining shards from Nadar before a golden aura took over. The light started as just a sphere, but soon took shape and in a blaze reformed into a person.

Everyone stared in shock as Nadar returned, his health back up to full as he stared at his hands. It had only taken Nadar a second to recover before he turned to Arthur, reaching out and grabbing his arm with not an ounce of mercy in his eyes. He'd punch Arthur's elbow with his free fist, completely snapping it in the wrong direction and breaking it.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" With the blistering pain, Arthur was unable to hold the sword and dropped it. But Nadar was far from done with the punishment, as he turned and pulled Arthur over his shoulder, slamming his back onto the ground. Now grabbing his arm with both hands, Nadar would place his foot on his chest before pulling with all his might. Red damage sections would appear at Arthur's socket as he pulled, giving the clear warning to the players before Nadar ripped his arm clean off.

As the Paladin screamed in agony, his arm vanished in a flash of shards as Nadar stood over him. The executioner then raised his foot up, hovering it over Arthur's head. He didn't even give the Paladin a second to react before he slammed his foot down, crushing Arthur's head into shards.

And just as he did seconds ago, Arthur shattered completely underneath Nadar. And after seconds of it, all of the shards vanished, leaving Nadar standing alone at the center, panting as if he had just ran a marathon run.

Kirito, Sachi, Silica and Hachiman all stared in a mixture of relief, confusion and guilt. They couldn't believe their own eyes as they saw Nadar completely fine, all the way back up to his full health like nothing happened. In fact, aside from his equipment having been destroyed, he was just as he was. Aside from his shirt and pants there wasn't a single thing left, even his axe had vanished from in front of Schmitt.

After remaining in place for a minute, Nadar eventually regained his breath and looked over to them, smiling faintly as he did. "I'm… back." He was then caught off guard as all four ran at him, Hachiman and Kirito leaving their weapons as they jumped and dog piled on him, hugging him tightly as they cried. Nadar was fidgeting and trying to move around as they all held onto him tightly, all afraid that if they let go, he'd disappear again.

As they all hugged and cried, Asuna smiled faintly while wiping her tears away, finding difficulty as she couldn't stop herself. "Thank you, Klein." She thanked the samurai, looking over to him as she did. "I don't know what you did… but you saved him."

"Yeah… it's…" Klein would have difficulty speaking as he was crying himself, using his arm to wipe the tears away. "It's no problem. It's thanks to Nadar I had that item to begin with." Klein remembered it as clear as day, during the Christmas event, almost a year ago Nadar had fought against the special boss alone in an attempt to earn a special revival item. The Red Samurai knew the reason he went for it was to bring back one of the original Moonlit Black Cats, but had given it to him after seeing the item's effect.

It could revive a player, but only after ten seconds.

It was only by a simple hunch that Klein hadn't used it yet, feeling it deep in his gut that he'd know when he needed it. And for once in his life, he was glad that his gut wasn't wrong for a change.

And just seeing everyone hugging him, crying in relief and shock from everything that happened, made him feel justified in all of the players he'd let die while holding it. He regretted watching them disappear and pass on, but he had saved someone so close to him and his friends, someone that he considered to be a little brother.

And he could see it in Nadar's eyes as well. As he eventually started to comfort everyone close to him, he was grateful to be alive. For the first time since he entered this game, he was actually grateful to still be alive.

' _I'm sorry, Serana.'_ He thought as he kissed Sachi's forehead, trying to sooth her as she cried into his chest. _'Not yet.'_

' _But soon.'_


	13. Forging Ahead

"You know, messaging ahead would have been the respectable thing to do." Kirito said as he sat in his living room, staring at Heathcliff as he sat across the room from him. After he and the others were finally able to be pulled off of Nadar, they had teleported home to get some much needed rest. However, only an hour after they made it back, Heathcliff was knocking on the door. And with him were Asuna and Hachiman, both looking disappointed in themselves over the sudden visit.

"Yes, I understand that." Heathcliff nodded. "And I do so apologize for coming unannounced as I had. However, all of the reports from the raid on Laughing Coffin demanded my attention. All involving you and our resident executioner."

Kirito knew exactly what Heathcliff was referring to on his part. After all, it's hard to miss the part in a report of a player dual-wielding swords and taking on two of Laughing Coffins' top assassins. But as for Nadar, he felt rather limited on what he could possibly mean. Nothing other than a confirmed kill count or confirmation on who the traitor was. But even then, Hachiman or Asuna were just as capable of confirming it.

Before his thoughts could dwell on it longer, Nadar walked out of his room and silently closing the door. "Alright, Sachi and Silica are asleep now." He said, walking towards the group. He looked completely exhausted, his shoulders slumped down and arms hanging as he moved. Eventually, he sat on the chair next to Kirito, practically falling back into it. "Can we get this over with as quickly as possible?"

"Um, you okay buddy?" Hachiman asked. "I mean, for a guy who was revived just a couple hours ago, you look like you actually died back then."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… tired." He responded, rubbing his eyes as he did. "The revive process seems to have a side-effect of draining all your strength. Add in the fact you have two sisters who are bawling their eyes out from your near death experience, I am completely wiped." He then looked over to Heathcliff, giving an annoyed look as he did. "So what's the big deal you cherry… covered…" Nadar was then slowly falling asleep, only getting brought back by Kirito snapping his fingers. "I'm up!"

"Huh, he's too tired for sarcasm. I didn't think that'd ever happen." Heathcliff chuckled.

"Are you sure you want to stay up Nadar?" Asuna asked, seeing just how tired he was. "I'm sure Kirito would be able to answer the commander's questions while you get some sleep."

"Nah, every second I'm next to him is another guilt point on the guy." Nadar half chuckled, getting Kirito to look away for a second. "But in all seriousness, I can't go yet because I know the reason Heathcliff's here. And if he's going to be trying anything on my leader, I'm going to be here for it."

"Well, while I was hoping to talk about the Unique Skill Kirito appears to have, that was not the main focus in this." Heathcliff explained, an air of seriousness taking over. "No, what I came here was to find the answer as to how a single player killed 29 of the game's most dangerous guild of murderers."

The whole room then looked over to Nadar, who rested back in his chair as he looked up. Laughing Coffin had a total of 36 members including Arthur's little team of wannabe thugs. And of that number only seven are still alive, all in prison aside from PoH. "My Strength stat's through the roof commander, even you've said it yourself that I have the highest damage output on the frontlines. Those bargain mart assassins put all of their stats into Strength, Agility, Dexterity or Intellect. Killing just about any of them in one hit shouldn't even be that much of a surprise, especially with an entire raid group with me."

"Perhaps, but Asuna had stated several instances of your damage output increasing throughout the battle." Heathcliff called out. Nadar looked over to Asuna in a surprising reaction, looking betrayed while the girl looked away. "You killed not two assassins, but two Tanks that would be equal in health to our raid team. That is not damage you obtain with high stats."

"Well that's what happened." Nadar spat, looking to the commander as he did. "And for the record, even if I did know what it was, I don't have any business in telling you. Just like how it wasn't Kirito's business to tell you about his dual-wielding."

"We're all a part of the same team Nadar." Heathcliff countered. "And as the leader of the Assault team, I need to be aware of any advantage we could gain. Do you know how more effective we could have been if we knew of his Unique Skill sooner?"

"The only leader I recognize here is Kirito, MY guild leader." Nadar glared, fighting against his fatigue to stand up. "And don't think I can't read where this shit's going. You want the Moonlit Black Cats to dissolve and join the Knights of the Blood Oath." Nadar didn't even leave it as a question, he knew that it was exactly what the man wanted.

And after being called out like that, Heathcliff couldn't help but shrug. "Nadar, right now we've just made it to floor 68. And for the first time we went through an entire raid without losing a single player. People are beginning to have hope again that we can make it out of this game alive, something we need with how little our numbers on the frontlines have become. Imagine how many players we could inspire with your guild joining ours. As it is now, Kirito's Unique Skill won't gain much traction, having been used on just assassins. But if the KoB has two Unique Skill users, players would rally up to-"

"Commander, if I may interject." Asuna stepped forward, surprising everyone as she did. "I can see where you're going with this, and I do understand how important it is to keep moral up. But I don't think that having the Moonlit Black Cats joining us would help."

"Oh, do you now Asuna?" Heathcliff asked, looking back to his second.

"While having a guild with two Unique Skills would be inspirational, the Black cats can do something we can't." She explained, looking over to Nadar with a small smile. "Whether they know it or not, they inspire countless players as they are now. Just a small band of four players that work together to overcome their obstacles. They represent all the smaller guilds that want to join us on the frontlines. If they join us, that inspiration goes away with them."

"They look up to Kirito and Sis, they're the selfless ones." Nadar rolled his eyes as he sat back down. "But she does have a point. This guild has always stood up as representation for the smaller guilds. That's what the entire concept of the Moonlit Black Cats was supposed to be."

"We don't plan on joining your guild commander, so any further debate will just be wasting your breath." Kirito added in, standing up to take over for Nadar. "It simply isn't in our best interest to merge into the Knights of the Blood Oath."

Heathcliff would stare at the Black Swordsman with a hard to read glance, his thoughts impossible to determine by him. But after a minute, the commander would relent, as he sighed and closed his eyes. "Very well, I see that convincing you to join would be pointless. And there isn't anything I can do to offer as penance for joining." Standing up, he would continue to look at Kirito with his stare. "The boss raid has been moved back a week due to Arthur's betrayal. I expect all of the Black Cats to join us for it."

"That's going to take a bit more time." Kirito responded. "All of Nadar's gear had been destroyed when he died. He needs new armor and weapons, which he then needs to get accustomed to before we can consider putting him back on the frontlines."

"I see. Very well then, I should offer some assistance then." Heathcliff said, getting everyone to step back in shock. "I would offer my direct presence, but due to Arthur's… untimely passing-"

"I'd say it was perfectly timed." Nadar managed to jab in, getting an irritated sigh from Heathcliff.

"ANYWAY." He continued in vocal annoyance, his voice still calm despite being louder. "I will be entrusting Asuna that you get the appropriate armor and weapons so that you make it to the raid." He then turned to his second. "Can I trust you to handle this, Asuna?"

"I won't let you down sir." Asuna answered, her face determined as she stood at attention.

"Good, good." Heathcliff then started to walk towards the door, motioning Hachiman with him as he did. "Come Hachiman, we need to help accustom Schmitt to his new position as guild leader for the Holy Dragon Alliance."

"Oh god, the eggs that'll be broken." Nadar said, getting Heathcliff to shake in contained irritation. Although no one saw it, Nadar could feel the resentment the commander felt towards him, and smirked as he and Hachiman walked out. "Who knew even with the exhaustion of death, I still got it in me? Don't I Kir…"

"Yeah, you're really something Nadar." Kirito chuckled. "Glad to know it isn't bothering you that mu-" As Kirito turned to look at Nadar, he stopped talking when he saw the player passed out on the couch. "Wow, Nadar never falls asleep that quickly. At least not when I'm still awake."

"It's been a long day for him." Asuna laughed lightly, smiling as Nadar slept calmly. "He hasn't been getting many breaks ever since we dealt with Yolko and Caynz, I don't think I've ever seen him work so hard before."

"He was getting ready for when he'd go after Laughing Coffin." Kirito explained. "He was out grinding even later than he usually did. Normally our levels were pretty close, but right now I think he's gotten up to 90."

"No way, he did that much?" Asuna stared in shock. "He leveled up even higher than the commander that quickly? How could he manage that much?"

"My guess, he's found the boss rooms for the past eight floors long before the scouts did and has been grinding them for as long as he could." Kirito put out, looking down to Nadar. "He put everything he had into stopping Laughing Coffin, he has ever since they showed up. And I almost… I got him killed."

"It wasn't your fault." Asuna reasoned. "It was an intense situation and you acted the way you thought was right. PoH just… knows how to get into people's heads. He has for Nadar for almost a year now."

"I'm not sure it was just a year." Kirito muttered, looking down as he did. Even if it was just in the heat of the moment, he couldn't overlook the fact that he almost got Nadar killed. The guy who's stood by his side ever since they first met, the same guy who ran in between him and a boss to save him despite the hostility between them. No matter what happened, Nadar was always there to watch Kirito's back. And he was responsible for him almost getting his brain fried by the NerveGear.

As an image of Nadar shattering in front of him entered his head, Kirito shook his head to clear his mind. If he kept thinking about it then he'd surely get an anxiety issue. And there's already enough of that in the guild as it is. "Hey Asuna, mind grabbing that blanket?" Kirito asked, pointing to a green blanket on a nearby shelf. "Nadar's a light sleeper, so moving him would just wake him up again."

"Oh, sure." Asuna nodded as she walked over to the folded blanket. Picking it up, she'd turn back and head to the sleeping player, unfurling the blanket and trying her best to avoid waking him.

"We only have two bedrooms, but there's two beds In Nadar's." Kirito said to Asuna, turning as she finished tucking Nadar under the blanket. "I'm pretty sure Sachi and Silica are sleeping in the same bed, so the spare one should be available for you. Since you kind have gotten stuck with us on assist duty. Sorry about that."

"No, it's fine." Asuna responded. "I was going to offer to help get him better gear anyways. After all, it seems like he loses his stuff every other big event that happens."

"Yeah, he has a bad habit of throwing his stuff like it's easily replaced." Kirito chuckled as Asuna walked up to him. "He doesn't have a lot of stat points in Intellect, so every time he throws something it only has a 5% chance of hitting where he aimed. You wouldn't believe how many axes he's lost even before he actually made it to the frontlines."

"I'd bet it's somewhere high in the double digits." Asuna laughed back. As she stepped up to him, her eyes caught sight of a small pot in the kitchen. Looking closer at it, she saw several flowers planted in it with a variety of colors: two green, a yellow, purple, brown, and pinky. The pink was notably bigger than the others, but other than that they all seemed to be of similar rose types from floor 47.

Kirito noticed Asuna's gaze, and followed her sight to see the flowers. "Oh, I see you saw our little room lightener."

"I didn't take any of you to enjoy flowers." Asuna admitted. "Although I guess it does make sense for Silica to plant them as a memento, didn't she and Nadar go on their first quest on floor 47?"

"Well, yeah they did. But Silica didn't plant them." Kirito stated, confusing Asuna.

"Was it Sachi?" Kirito shook his head no at Asuna's question. "Wait, you did?"

"Nope, flowers aren't really my thing." Kirito admitted, smiling as he looked over to Nadar. "He did, right as soon as we made it to floor 47 he learned how to properly pick them and brought them here. He actually added one of the greens more recently, he didn't explain why though."

Hearing this, Asuna would look back to Nadar, her expression turning to one of empathy. She could put the pieces together to figure out the purpose of the flowers giving the growing experiences she's had with him. She figured Kirito, Sachi and Silica did as well, but respected his privacy enough to not ask or expose it. And it proved that despite his outspoken hatred of most people, their deaths weigh heavily on him.

' _Why do you always lie to yourself?'_ She'd think to herself. _'Why can't you just be honest and speak how you truly feel?'_

* * *

"Say ahhhh~"

"Sis, I'm fine."

"You haven't eaten since before the raid, you need fill up or else you'll start taking damage."

"And I understand." Nadar would say as he looked at his sister, who was holding a sandwich up to him. "But I don't need you babying me and holding the food for me. My arms aren't broken you know."

"Yes, but I'm also aware that you won't eat anything when you need it unless it gets crammed down your throat." Sachi countered, reaching the sandwich closer to him as he leaned back. "And I'm giving you a very clear choice between the two. So please just eat before something else goes wrong."

"Sis, seriously, I'm fine." Nadar tried to argue, grabbing Sachi's wrists and trying to keep her at bay. "I ate something the moment I woke up, I'm not in any desperate situation."

"Your history begs to differ. Now. Eat!"

"I already did!"

Across the table, Kirito sighed as Sachi fought to try and get Nadar to eat, the antics of the two escalating as time went on. It hadn't been 20 minutes since he woke up and saw his girlfriend trying to get her brother to eat something. And as the usual arrogant player he was, Nadar refused to accept it, on the grounds that he saw it as a pity gift for yesterday.

About six months ago, Sachi would have left it at that and respected his choice. But after spending so much time around her brother, she gained a similar level of determination to him. Not nearly as over the top, but she wasn't going to be taking no any time soon.

"Careful." Kirito warned. "Silica's still asleep, and if you put any more force into pushing you'll break the chair and-" Just as he spoke, Sachi pushed forward just a bit more, causing the chair's durability to wear out and cause the two to fall onto the ground. A loud thud went off as a result, due to Nadar's high strength increasing his avatar's weight and Sachi's metal chest plate. "…Cause a ruckus."

"Seriously? You say ruckus?" Nadar asked, not even fazed by the fall. "What are you, 50?"

"Nadar, please just eat." Sachi spoke, reaching the sandwich out to him as they sat up.

"How about I pack it and have it later for lunch? That seems pretty fair to me."

"You eat now or not at all!"

"You can't force me! I have rights!"

As a struggle began once more, Kirito sighed in defeat. "Why didn't Asuna just let us go with her to her blacksmith? It'd beat the tension here."

"Is everything okay?" Silica asked as she walked out in her nightgown, yawning as she just woke up. Pina flew onto her head shortly after, resting on her as she walked to the table. When she sat down, she yawned again, a tear forming in her eye.

"Good morning Silica, sorry we woke you up." Kirito said, smiling at the little girl. "Everything's fine, we just have a small issue."

"Are Nadar and Sachi arguing again?" Silica asked as she wiped her tear away, looking over to her foster siblings.

"Yeah, Nadar's refusing to eat Sachi's sandwich she made." Kirito explained. "She made it for him so that he'd regain more of his strength, but he's been stubborn as usual. And considering how tense things were yesterday, I think Sachi ran out of patience awhile ago."

"She feels guilty, doesn't she?" Silica questioned, sounding as if she already knew the answer. Although she joined rather late into the guild, she was able to pick up on the situation of everyone's relationship. Right away she knew that Sachi was dating Kirito, something that Nadar seemed heavily against. And while the two got along really well regardless, Nadar seemed to be slowly pushed away because of how he acted. And while he may have not been in the right, Sachi was clearly feeling sorry for him as time went on and she kept kicking him out. His near death was just the nail in the coffin.

Kirito nodded once, causing Silica to look down in sadness. She felt just as guilty as Sachi, having not done anything to help. She's tried hard to catch up and become everyone's equal, even managing to find the highest-level loot out of the entire guild. But even then, she could barely keep up with Johnny Black and eventually lost. Nadar trusted her to be able to handle herself, but because of her weakness she had to be saved once more.

"Hey, don't look down." Kirito spoke, patting Silica's head. "It's behind us, there's no point in feeling guilty over it. It happened, there's no getting past that, but he's still here with us. And that's what's important."

"R-Right!"

"Oi, paws off my sister Kirito!" Nadar shouted. "It's bad enough you stole Sis, now you're after Sili!? Have you no respect for me man!?"

"What? It's not like that man! She's like a little sister to me too!"

"Hi, sorry I'm late I was busy…" Asuna spoke up as she opened the front door, not finishing her sentence as she saw the guild arguing. When she walked in, both Sachi and Nadar stopped fighting, just remaining still on the floor while looking up to Asuna. Everyone remained in silent for what felt like forever, just all awkwardly looking at the rapier user before she finally sighed. "Should I even bother asking?"

"I mean, you've been here enough times. I thought this kind of stuff would be normal at this point." Nadar said, pushing Sachi off of him to sit up better. "So, how'd the trip to Lisabell go?"

"Lisbeth."

"Oh wow, I was way off."

"I get the idea he's trying to change the subject?" Asuna spoke to the others, getting a collective nod from the guild. Even Nadar shrugged his shoulders, knowing it was a long shot. "Alright, so what has he been doing to stress everyone out this time?"

"He's been up since 4:00 and he's refused to eat anything." Sachi explained, holding the sandwich out to him again in one last attempt. "And he's been adamant on refusing to eat my cooking."

"I already told you, I ate when I woke up!"

"Well… if he did then why is it-"

"Nadar never eats in the morning." Kirito interrupted. "He always eats lunch, dinner and a midnight meal. And considering he was out for a longer time than normal, we know he hasn't eaten anything for at least 12 hours."

That caused Asuna to look at Nadar in disappointment, who crossed his arms in response. "Breakfast has never been a habit of mine. And I refuse to break that just because I haven't eaten for awhile."

Asuna sighed heavily as she pinched between her eyes. To her, Nadar was acting like a complete child, and after everything that's happened to him it's a mystery on how he could act like that. "Nadar, I get that you have this idea that you can handle everything in your own way, and I do respect that about you. But sometimes you need to change in order to get better."

"We're going to be grinding for the whole day just to get you a good axe, the least you could do is make sure you're not getting a nerf effect on your health."

"It's not like I'm going to be doing any of the actual fighting." Nadar countered. "And besides, there isn't a nerf strong enough to really impact my health or my strength. So I don't really see the problem in me going out with a few lower stats."

"The problem is that we'll be too worried about you." Asuna stated. "I understand where you're coming from, but it's simply too much for us to go with right now. We just had one of the worst moments of our lives yesterday because of your methods. I can tell you aren't really affected by what happened to you, but all of us are. So please, make it easier on all of us and just eat something."

Nadar looked away from Asuna when she finished, his eyes narrowing as he did. Everyone frowned as he did, knowing well that just like every other day he was going to be stubborn to the bitter end. It was something they came to expect, but it made it more difficult to work with him. And it made them even more concerned about his health as a result. He wasn't a stupid fighter, but he certainly pushed the edge of what was a sensible strategy.

But before they realized it, Nadar grabbed the sandwich from Sachi's hands and took a bite from it. Everyone stared in surprise when he swallowed, watching as he stood up. "Would you stop giving me that look? It feels like you don't trust me to keep myself alive." As he took a second bite, Sachi and Asuna both smiled. "You have more important things to worry about than me, so focusing on that is wiser."

With the tension going down, Kirito would sigh in relief while looking to Asuna. "You have no idea how much you just helped. We've been trying to get him to eat for 20 minutes now and he hadn't budged."

"It's kind of surprising how much more he listens to you Asuna." Silica commented, confusing the player while Nadar's mouth closed tight.

"What do you mean?" Asuna asked.

"Well, haven't you noticed during the past couple of boss raids? Every plan the commander's made he's been rather against, but you manage to talk him down and to agree with it." Silica brought up. "He's even taken into account your recommendation to raise his Agility more, at least enough to be quicker with his old axe."

Nadar then shoved the rest of the sandwich in his mouth and swallow in one gulp before turning back to Silica. "That was not the reason and you know it! That axe needed a decent Agility stat to be properly wielded. Weapons from floor 55 and up are like that!"

"Bro, that's swords and spears." Sachi called out. "Axes and hammers require Dexterity and Strength stats, both of which you have more than enough points in. You're not tricking us with false info like that."

Kirito began to smirk as he chuckled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're getting a soft spot for Asuna. What's going to happen next, you adopt her as a sister like Sachi and… Silica?" Kirito's words slowed down as Nadar suddenly opened his menu, navigating through it until he arrived at the guild's shared storage. He didn't see what he did, but he clearly moved something from it to his own.

"I don't need this right now." Nadar stated as a teleport crystal appeared in his hand. "I'll see you on floor 62, I hear there's a good axe there." He then teleported away, getting everyone up and panicked as he did.

"What is he doing!?"

"We have to move quick!" As Sachi went to her menu, she stopped in shock at seeing their teleport crystals gone. "He took out the teleport crystals!"

"We need to get to town, fast!"

"I have a crystal with me, I'll go to floor 62 and stop him." Asuna said as she pulled out a crystal. Just about as quickly as she vanished, she appeared in the main town of the floor, instantly looking around for him. Not seeing him around, she opened her menu and went to her map. Once again, no sign of him was in town, and when she expanded her map she saw that he wasn't even on the floor. "Where is he!?"

* * *

"Lisbeth's Blacksmith Shop…" Nadar muttered as he looked at the small hut at the edge of the town on floor 48. He had initially intended to make it to floor 62 as he said, but after his teleport glitched and he landed on 48, he remembered that Asuna's smith was here and decided to take a look for himself. He was going to absolutely pay for it later, but he would have some time to himself before they found him.

"Minus points for creativity." He'd say as he opened the door, a small chime going off to signal he was here. At first glance, the shop looked hardly any different than any other. But as he'd look around, he'd see that there were some decent stats to the weapons. Nothing jaw dropping, but impressively high for crafted gear.

The door behind the counter opened just as he got to a nearby weapon rack, the owner walking out to greet him. "Welcome to Lisbeth's Black Smith shop." Hearing her voice, Nadar looked to her and was taken back by a fraction of a second. She had short pink hair and bright pink eyes, both most likely from customization later on, a red blacksmith apron and skirt, and shin high leather boots.

But what had caught him by surprise was her face. It was at the furthest point in his mind, but from how she looked he couldn't help but make the comparison to someone else. The name lingered in his head for a second before he shook it off, knowing that he couldn't think on it for too long.

"Are you alright sir?" Lisbeth asked, noticing him shake his head in irritation.

"Yeah, just had a small headache." He responded, walking over to the counter. "I heard of this shop from a friend once, and I was wondering if I could put in a custom order?"

Lisbeth would look at Nadar from head to toe, noticing his complete lack of equipment besides the basic attire. _'He doesn't look like he has that much money. Could he even afford a smith shop on floor 36?'_

Not bringing up her thoughts, the blacksmith would speak to him in a polite manner. "I can, but metal prices are really high these days. Especially with all the rare drops that have been coming up."

"Oh, don't worry about money. That isn't a problem for me." Nadar replied, showing courtesy to the smith as he talked. "I just need the best two-handed axe that you can make. Preferably one that has more attack damage than speed."

"I make a ton of axes, but I need a good comparison of the specific type you need." Lisbeth explained, getting a nod from him.

"Yeah, I get that." He'd say, opening his menu. He'd go through it quickly before going to the NOTE setting, selecting his old weapon stats and turning the screen to her. "My old axe was a Red Devil Cruelty Axe, they're found on floor 52. Something around that quality would be the best for me."

"Hmmm." Lisbeth hummed as she looked at the stats, seeing everything that went together. She wasn't sure how close she could get the power stat, but she felt she had a good axe or two to go with it.

Turning around, she would go to her personal stash and grab a large axe. When she held it out to him, she felt confident enough while he took it. "It may not be my Masterpiece, but that's the best axe I've ever forged. I like to call it The Protégé."

"That good, huh?" Nadar questioned as he felt the axe's weight, swinging it once to test it. "It isn't too heavy."

"I made it from a durability metal, so it'll be able to take most attacks with flying colors." She explained. "I figure your last axe broke, so that's why you needed a new one. And in terms of balance you won't find a better axe."

"Well, if you say so. But would you mind if I tested it out?" Without waiting for an answer, he raised the axe above his head, planning on testing just how much force it could take.

Seeing what he was doing, Lisbeth would cross her arms and smirk as he readied a skill. The floor was indestructible thanks to being an immortal object, and the test will prove just how useful it could be. "Feel free to, I'm sure you'll be satisfied with the results."

"Well, if you gave me permission then let's do this!" Slamming the axe down, he'd use his strongest skill to test just how powerful it could be. But just as the axe hit the ground, they both heard a loud crack before the head of the axe flew right off. Clattering in the shop's corner, the blade would sit for just a second before shattering.

"Ahh!" Quickly going around the counter, she grabbed the large axe handle away from Nadar, getting him to step back as she looked at it. "You broke… The Protégé…" The handle then shattered from her hands, signaling the weapons total destruction. She let out a pathetic squeak as she fell to her knees, grieving the destruction of one of her best weapons.

"Ah shit, you're not gonna cry or something are you?" Nadar asked as she remained down. "I mean, I normally can just ignore it but I've dealt with two crying girls all night last night and I can not deal with anymo-"

"What the hell were you thinking!?" Lisbeth demanded as she stood up and turned to Nadar, grabbing his shirt's collar in fury.

"Okay… this better, I think?" Nadar said, sounding confused on rather he should be glad or not.

"Everyone knows not to use a full powered Strength skill against an immortal object, why did you think that was a good idea!?"

"Well you said it was made of a Durability material! Under that assumption I thought it could tank any attack I could throw! If anything I was put under false advertising! Otherwise I wouldn't have broken your toothpick of an axe!"

"Are you saying that The Protégé, my greatest axe, wasn't good enough for you!?"

"I said toothpick right?" Nadar questioned. "I'm certain I said toothpick, something with tooth and pick in there."

Lisbeth would release his shirt, only to smack his chest with the back of her hand before placing both her fists on her hips. "For your information, if I had the right material I could make a boat load of weapons so powerful they'd break the best axe you ever held into tiny pieces."

"Oh really now?" Nadar questioned, smirking as he looked down to her. "Now that sounds like an axe I would love to get my hands on. Of course under the assumption you aren't giving me the EA treatment again."

Lisbeth's whole face was red in anger as she glared up at him, tacking the slander on her work to heart. "Fine! But you have to help me make it every step of the way, starting with the material!"

"I mean, sure I'm up for a quest. But I don't exactly have a weapon for the job."

"What's the matter, scared?"

Nadar then surprised her as he grabbed both of her shoulders, looking her dead in the eye. "Floor. Location. Now."

* * *

"Achoo!" Lisbeth sneezed, holding her arms in a useless effort to keep herself warm. The pair were currently on floor 55, traveling high in the mountains on a single path. The metal they were looking for spawned from a dragon at the top that consumed crystals.

"What's the matter Pinky? Cold?" Nadar asked back, smirking as he looked to the shivering blacksmith. "Told you it was going to be freezing."

"I didn't think it'd be this cold." Lisbeth shot back.

"Floor 55 is covered in snow and we're going up one of the highest mountains in all of Aincrad." Nadar countered. "And of all the apparel choices you could make, you wore a chest plate, gauntlets and your apron and skirt. The fuck did you think was going to happen?"

"Okay then why aren't you cold then?" She questioned, referring to him still wearing the basic attire.

"Simple, nothing in this game is real. And because I know that something as simple as temperature doesn't get to me." He answered. "When you've been fighting bosses since the start of this game, it gets easier for you to stand in the cold."

"Doesn't exactly make that easier on my end." Lisbeth complained, shivering to herself as they walked. Seeing her shake, Nadar rolled his eyes and opened his menu. Just a few seconds later a black coat formed and he threw it at her, confusing her as she felt it. "What?"

"My friend has a bunch of coats in our shared inventory." He explained. "He may have a bad taste in fashion, but a coat will do its job in the end." He then started to keep walking, leaving Lisbeth to think while she followed.

' _It's weird, I think I've heard stories of him but I can't remember his name.'_ She'd think, keeping an even five paces away from Nadar as the walked on the Cliffside path. _'He's on the frontlines that's for sure, he was able to shatter Protégé without breaking a sweat. And he certainly isn't Godfrey or Agil, nowhere near big enough. SO who does that leave in the axe department?'_

"Oi, Lisbeth!' Nadar called back to her, making her realize she was losing ground on him. "What are you doing lagging back like that? If you aren't careful you might get caught in an avalanche."

"Oh, sorry!" She responded, running up to him. "Wait, avalanche?"

"Random event trigger that forces you to fight a frost troll." He stated, not missing a beat as he looked over to her. "This floor is one of the most random ones, from its item drop to events. I can't even count how many times I got screwed because I was caught in avalanche in the time we were stuck here."

"Are you a solo player?" Lisbeth asked. "It's just that you came to my shop all alone without even a weapon. I know my shop isn't outside the safe zone, but that's still dangerous here."

"I haven't been solo since the first month of this game." Nadar answered. "I'm a part of a guild of four, the Moonlit Black Cats. We're within the ranks of the Assault Team, so sticking together is usually mandatory."

"Then where is-"

"Unfortunately, the buggy fucking game cares not for my teleporting and sends me halfway up Aincrad."

"Oh, that makes more sense."

"So instead of going the whole distance and getting my ears bleeding from shouting, I decided to go to your shop." He explained. "I heard from a friend that you're the best blacksmith they knew, so I figured it'd be a good choice to visit and see if you had anything good."

"And then you broke Protégé."

"Not my fault you had one of your life's work shattered because of the weak stats." Nadar shrugged, smirking as he looked at her. "I mean seriously, almost two years in here and that was one of the weakest two-handed axes I ever touched."

"Well just you wait!" She shouted back at him. "The one I'll make will be so great that you'll be bowing at my feet in gratitude!"

"Doubt it."

* * *

"Wow." Lisbeth gasped in awe, seeing a field of blue crystals. They had reached the boss field and were just outside of it, but looking at it the blacksmith couldn't even consider it dangerous.

Before she could walk up to one however, Nadar grabbed the back of the coat to stop her. "I wouldn't if I were you. We're not heading that way."

"We aren't?" Lisbeth asked, looking back to him. "But we have to beat the dragon to get the material."

"I don't think we do." Nadar responded. "See, I've been hired by master blacksmiths for this quest before and it always goes to shit. Not because the boss is anything difficult, just it drops piss poor items. The only material it leaves behind is a Crystallite Chrysalis, half digested crystals that can be woven into clothes to give it a moonlight tint."

"How do you know that?"

"My Sis used one to customize her latest outfit, she likes leveling some of her more casual skills." He stated, turning away from the crystal field. "I never thought of it before, but if there's one thing I know about dragons in stories, it's that they like to hide their treasure instead of holding it with them."

Lisbeth followed his line of sight, seeing a deep and wide hole going down into the ground behind them. It was most likely the dragon's nest, and she knew that if that was the case it was a long drop. "You're joking, right?"

Nadar's hands then flashed and two small pickaxes formed, a special item meant solely for climbing ice. "You might want to get on my back. I only have the one set."

"Get on your back?"

"It's that or you swan dive right in." He smirked. "You're choice."

* * *

"This is humiliating." Lisbeth whined as she clung desperately onto Nadar's back, the axe man slowly scaling down the icy wall.

"Well it beats falling, that's for sure." He chuckled, ripping the right pickaxe out and spiking it back into the wall lower. His strength stat was more than capable of holding both him and the blacksmith, even with her armor and mace equipped. It had actually surprised her how well he was handling the weight, not even getting phased while climbing down. "Is your Strength stat good? If you need me to pause I can stop and keep a hold on you while you recover."

The question caught Lisbeth off guard, but she shook her head. "I'll be fine. I may not look it, but my Strength stat is my highest right after my Intelligence."

"Makes sense." He responded, continuing the descent down. "Need a strong arm and sharp mind to forge metal. I can't say that upping my Intelligence has ever been important to me. I only have about 5 points in it for all of my axe skills."

"If that's all you have in Intelligence, you must have a crap ton in your other stats."

"Vitality is the highest, followed by Strength and then Dexterity. After that, I only have a good chunk of points in my Agility and none in my Luck." He said, knowing his stat points to heart. "Which is why I asked if your Strength was good for this. Normally when I work with people my Strength is basically triple what they have."

"Oh… well thank you for the concern." Lisbeth thanked, getting a single nod from Nadar.

Just as he pulled out his left pickaxe, the ice around his right had suddenly cracked and gave way, causing the pickaxe to slide out and the two to start falling. Nadar's eyes widened as they began to fall rapidly, his instincts flaring the moment the pickaxe lost its anchor.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Hang on Liz!" Nadar shouted over Lisbeth's screaming as he readied his pickaxes. The two glowed bright green, an Agility skill activating before he placed his feet on the icy wall. Knowing he couldn't stop them quickly enough by jabbing into the current wall, he would try to stall their descent by jumping to the other side of the hole.

Stabbing into it, Nadar would try to stop them as quickly as possible. They were still descending rapidly, and without any spikes on his shoes his feet planted on the wall did nothing to help. Eventually they began to slow down, the bottom of the nest within sight after how far they had fell.

The axe man panted lightly, his adrenaline pumping his heart to keep him aware. "Now I'm… really glad I have some Agility points." He half chuckled, realizing just how close the two were to being screwed. With his adrenaline wearing off, he could feel just how tightly Lisbeth was hugging herself to his back, shaking as she had her eyes closed. "You okay Liz?"

"Are we alive?" She asked, not looking up from his back.

"Yeah, we're alive." He responded. "But we're still a little over 40 meters from the bottom. So just hold on a little longer." Lisbeth only nodded in response, getting a sympathetic frown from Nadar before he went back to climbing down. It didn't take them long before reaching the ground both sighing as they separated and collapsed onto the snow floor.

"That was way too close." Lisbeth stated, thanking her soul that they made it.

"To be honest, I've had worse odds of survival." Nadar said. "Falling down that hole probably wouldn't have killed us, but it certainly wouldn't have looked pretty after we hit the ground."

"You're really confident in your stats, aren't you?"

"Haven't had a reason to doubt them so far." Nadar then sat up, looking around the Dragon's nest. And as he expected, there was virtually nothing special about it beside the ice walls.

Lisbeth sat up shortly after, seeing the seeming lack of detail to the area. "Oh great, there isn't even anything down here. We almost died and there isn't any metal in sight."

"Well if a metal isn't visible, where would it be?" The axe man asked.

The blacksmith looked over to him in confusion for a second before her eyes widened in realization, looking down to the snow beneath them. "It must be buried here!"

"Yep, so ya better get digging." Nadar chuckled as the two got to their knees, beginning to rummage through the snow in an attempt to find the rare metal. "So do we have any idea how many of these spawn at a time?"

"Well, no one's found it yet. So I couldn't really give you the best of predictions." Lisbeth responded. "But if I were to guess, since it's so rare that only two or three will spawn every 24 hours. Any more and it isn't the quality material that all the rumors suggest. Why do you ask?"

"I might have a few more orders I might want made." Nadar answered, his digging slowing as he looked around. "Something's… come up, and I want to have some proper gifts ready."

"Gifts?"

"It's a little personal Sar-" Before he could finish his sentence, Nadar bit his tongue as hard as he could, using the pain to stop himself from continuing. "Fucking god damn it!"

"Are you… okay?" Lisbeth slowly asked, having saw him violently bite his tongue.

"Yeah, almost let something slip." He answered, looking back to the snow as he dug. "It's a little personal, but let's just say that you… remind me of someone."

"Oh… I understand." Lisbeth looked down in response, knowing what he was referring to. Everyone's lost someone in this game, and while she may not even know his name, his actions in the past hour have shown that it's affected him.

The two dug for almost ten minutes before Nadar's fingers felt a hard substance, seeing a light blue shine out from the pale white. "Hey Liz! I think I found something!" As the blacksmith moved over to investigate, he had completely dug up the object, revealing a large crystal. "This what you were talking about?"

Using her Appraisal skill, Lisbeth was able to pull up the item details on it, revealing the name "Crystallite Ingot". "No doubt about it, this has to be it. I haven't seen an ingot that weighs this much."

"Well, at least I know what we have to deal with." Nadar smirked, handing the ingot back to her. "And to think, the rarest metal in this game is a literal turd. Subversion at it's finest huh?"

"What?" Lisbeth blinked, confused by his comment.

"Well you know, the dragon eats crystals and digests them." He explained. "Crystallite Chrysalis is the half digested stuff that drops from the dragon. So it makes sense to put together that the fully hardened stuff is its excrement. Ya know, poop."

The revelation caused Lisbeth's eyes to widen as she looked down to the crystal. The metal that she had been looking for, what she always wanted to make a weapon out of, was nothing more than a literal piece of crap! "Gross!" She shouted, tossing the ingot at Nadar.

The axe man caught the crystal effortlessly, rolling his eyes at Lisbeth's reaction. "Relax, it's not like you're actually touching a shit or anything. We're not even in the real world, so there isn't any shame in holding it." He then put the ingot down next to him, turning back down to continue digging. "Let's try and see if we can find one more. I'd prefer two, but I'm willing to go with just one if we can get it before scales comes back."

"Alright, let's hurry then." Lisbeth smiled as she crouched down next to him, digging into the snow once more.

' _This is so weird.'_ She thought as she dug, looking at Nadar while he remained focused on digging. _'I don't even know his name, but for some reason I feel like I… like I could trust him with my life. He's the first person who's trusted me to go with him on a fetch quest, even with us above floor 50. Asuna wouldn't ever let me out of the town. Even with our rough… meeting, he's been surprisingly nice. Not something I expected from a front liner.'_ Remembering their fall, she felt her cheeks redden, recalling how close she hugged herself to him. _'He also felt really… warm.'_

* * *

"Okay, and lastly a two-handed axe, right?" Lisbeth asked, placing one of the Crystalline Ingot's on her table. After digging for almost two hours, the two had managed to dig up two more of the rare metal. And seeing it as enough, the two returned back to her shop to forge the weapons after a much quicker ascension up the dragon's nest.

"Yep, that'd be it." He nodded, standing across the table from Lisbeth while she held a blacksmith hammer. In his hand was a sword in a sheathe, a unique mixture of light and dark blue going across it. And thanks to the rarity of the metal, it hadn't even gotten a name. So after a brief thought he gave it the name the Moonlight Sword, fitting given the color scheme to it.

"Alright." Lisbeth said as she took a calming breathe, preparing her smith skills before she began to hit the metal. Careful, perfected strikes to the top of the crystal instantly caused it buckle under the pressure, slowly getting flattened after each strike.

It had taken two minutes, but eventually the ingot glowed bright and took form, becoming a large axe. It was a single end axe, but at the top there was a long spike going out to the other end. And at the center of the handle was a dark blue gem, matching in with the two shades of the weapon. "There we go, and just like the sword it isn't even named." Lisbeth commented, looking over to Nadar. "Did you have something in mind for this one as well?"

"Honestly? Not a clue." He shrugged. "Probably just something like Crystal Axe or something dull like that. All my creativity went into the Moonlight Sword."

"Well, if you're so sure." Lisbeth responded, giving the axe the name Crystal Axe, confirming it seconds after. "Now's the big test."

Nadar nodded once in response, leaning the Moonlight Sword against the table as he reached for the axe. Gripping it with both hands, he lifted it up and almost instantly his eyes lit up. It remained for only a second, but he smirked right after. "The weight is perfect, nice and heavy but not so much that I can't move fast enough. It's an amazing axe Liz."

"Thank you."

Taking a quick test of it, he swung the axe around his back before hooking it to his back, having now secured his weapon. "Well, I guess that's just about all I have for you in terms of custom orders. How much do I owe you for the sword and axe?"

"Well, actually… I thought you could have it for free." Lisbeth admitted, confusing Nadar as she folded her hands together. A warm blush formed on her cheeks as she thought of the whole journey, and all that Nadar had done for her. "You see, I really enjoyed today, and I had so much fun going on an adventure with you. I haven't left for high level metal runs for almost a year, and I couldn't help but feel like that going on one with you was the best-"

"Stop." Nadar interrupted, placing a hand on her shoulder when he did. "Lisbe… Liz, I know exactly where this is going." He said, shaking his head as he did. "And trust me when I say this, you don't want that. I can't give you happiness, at least not the kind you're thinking about. For one thing, love can't form in just a single day, after one meeting. It takes time, it takes effort, and it should be shared with someone you treasure."

"And if I'm going to be honest with you, I don't deserve that kind of happiness." He continued, feeling guilty as he saw her hurt expression. "Liz, if you knew what I had done, you'd understand so much more. I don't want to say this, but I have to. I can't let you waste your chance at finding that special person by falling for someone like me."

"I was protective of you, more than I would be with just about anyone else in your situation. And the reason makes me feel sick to my stomach." He admitted, shaking his head as he looked down. "Liz, someone who can only see a ghost in you doesn't deserve your love. I'm sorry, but I can't give you that."

After he was finished speaking, Lisbeth could only look down as tears fell from her eyes, the system forcing the tears out that she was desperately trying to hold back. "I… I guess it was stupid to… think I could…" She was then caught off guard as Nadar wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug.

"Liz, let's get one thing out of the way here. You are not what's wrong here. I am." He said, looking down as he spoke. "I was broken just an hour into this game's release. I've only been able to hold myself together because of my singular hatred for just one guy. I'm resentful, broken, and just flat out undeserving of receiving anyone's affection."

"I've done good, but it's overshadowed by all the wrongs I've committed. I'm a player killer Liz, I'm sure that after yesterday I've reached a kill count of 200. They might have all been criminals or scum, but I've still killed far too many."

' _Aincrad's… Executioner?'_ Having put together the pieces, Lisbeth had just realized whom she had spent the entire day on a quest with. The most dangerous and widely considered the vilest player there was in the game. But that didn't feel like it matched the same player who she was with. He was rude at times, but for the most part he seemed so kind and protective. Something she wouldn't even consider when thinking about the player with the highest kill count in SAO.

"If it's any conciliation, I had fun today as well." He admitted. "Yesterday was an intense day, and knowing my guild they wouldn't have been able to work with me normally. It was nice to spend a day with someone who doesn't think I need my hand held 24/7 for mental support." He then separated from the girl, still frowning at seeing her tears. "You shouldn't cry for someone like me, I don't deserve anyone's tears."

"You really look down on yourself, don't you?" Lisbeth asked, trying to wipe away her tears.

"People have for my whole life, it isn't anything new to me."

"Well… I don't care what you say. You are a good person, at least in your heart you are." Lisbeth stated, looking up to him as she spoke. "I know you don't believe you're bad because you've killed people. Everyone you kill is a criminal, someone who kills or tortures other players."

"Not all of them."

"You stop that now." Lisbeth ordered, slapping his shoulder and surprising him. "I won't be having it known that Aincrad's Executioner started doubting himself in my shop. That's a poor business move on both our parts."

The statement caught Nadar off guard for a minute, but he soon smiled. "At least you aren't feeling down about the whole rejection thing."

"Oh, don't think this is over yet buster!" She declared, pointing at his face. "I mean it when I say I enjoyed our time together, and I'm more than willing to try and win you over. Since you said a relationship takes time I'm going to get to know you better."

"I also said that I don't deserve one or even trying to get one, but I get the feeling you're not going to relent." Nadar sighed. "Fine, but I won't be making any guarantees you'll get anywhere."

"Just a chance is all I need."

"Well if you're looking for a chance, there's one last thing I need you to do." Nadar responded, going into his menu.

"Hmm?"

"I need something upgraded. To the absolute max possible."

* * *

"Where have you been!?" Sachi demanded. Just minutes ago, she, Kirito, Silica and Asuna had finally tracked him down back to their house. And the moment they did, they practically made it to the house faster than a bullet.

"Fetch quest." Nadar answered simply, sitting in the living room with his axe unequipped.

"Why did you run off on your own like that!?"

"Was tired of the conversation. And I wanted some time to think to myself."

"You could have told us where you were going!"

"I did. Teleport crystal glitched and I ended up on floor 48."

"Well I… I…" Sachi was taken back by how cooperative Nadar was being, not hiding a single thing as she interrogated him. "Well… what were you doing on floor 48!? And why didn't you message us!?"

"Was looking for a new weapon from Liz. Wanted the day to myself and decided the yelling was manageable after it."

"Wait, you went to Liz's shop?" Asuna questioned.

"Yeah, you said she made good weapons so I wanted to see for myself." He explained. "Long story short, I was disappointed and we ended up going on a small quest to get a better metal for weapons."

"And you didn't think it would be smart to message us so we could help?" Kirito asked, crossing his arms.

"First, you would've all dragged me back here and we would've gotten nowhere. Second, the only thing we fought was gravity so there was no need for any of you. Oh, and I gave Liz your Winter Night Coat, so that's kinda gone now."

"You gave her one of my coats?"

"Long story." He responded, standing up as he did. "One that I'll be sure to go over with you all later. Right now, I need a straight talk from all of you."

Taking a deep breath, Nadar readied himself for what was to come. Both for him and for them. "Everyone, I've been wrong. For a long time now about everything." His claim surprised everyone, not ever expecting to hear those words from him.

"Silica…" He started, looking down to his little sister. "I shouldn't have left you back on floor 1, but just like you I was dealing with a lot of emotional weight and couldn't bring myself to drag you down with me. And when I brought you into our guild, Sachi and I were going through a rough spot in our relationship. There was a lot of drama, some of which still going now, and you don't deserve the treatment there's been."

"Sachi. Kirito." He continued on, turning to the two as he opened his menu. "Every since you two started dating, I've been extremely hard on both of you. More on Kirito's side than Sachi's." Selecting the Moonlight Sword, he would walk over to Sachi and hand her the blade, surprising her with the gift. "But I just want you both to know that it wasn't because I was against you two being together. At first it was a bit over jealousy, but after a few days it was for a much better reason. I wanted your relationship to work, and the only way I could know it would was to test you two. It isn't a good reason, but I want you two to understand why I did everything I did."

"Nadar…" Sachi whispered, holding the sword close as she looked to her brother.

"Kirito, I want you to know that I trust you the most in this whole game." Nadar added on, opening his menu again. "When we first met, you looked at me as a murderer. But when it came down to it, you trusted me enough to allow me into your party, and that's lead us up to where we are today." Selecting an item, his menu disappeared as a sheathed sword appeared in his hands. The sword caught everyone's attention, as it was one of the countless default swords from the first floor.

"This sword is my most treasured item, it only survived my death because it was the only thing in my priority storage." He held the sheathed sword out to Kirito, determination on his face as he did. "I've upgraded it to the best it could, using every single upgrade material I've gathered throughout this entire game. And I want you to have it."

"Are… are you sure?" Kirito asked.

"Kirito, I've never been so certain about this weapon more than right now." Nadar stated. "This sword has been what's drove me forward, a reminder to why I've lasted as long in this game. It's gotten me this far, and now I know that it's best with you. You're the only one who can make it useful and give it a real purpose."

Seeing his conviction, Kirito nodded once and took the sword from Nadar, surprised by the amount of weight the blade had. And when it automatically entered his inventory, he saw that the sword was renamed to Redeemer. "I'll be sure to live up to the expectation you have."

"Believe me, you already have." He smiled. "You two better make good use of those swords, they cost me a shit tone of col and I'd rather your wedding gifts not go to waste."

"Of course." Both Kirito and Sachi bowed, holding the swords to their chests. Both then blushed bright red and looked up to him, panicked as they did. "What do you-!?"

"I know it's coming soon, so I just wanted to be ahead." He chuckled, smiling before he looked over to Asuna. "And Asuna? I can't say too much, but I'm grateful for you always sticking by when we've needed you. You've come a long way from that outcast I met on the first floor."

"Oh… thank you." Asuna nodded, smiling to the executioner as she did. "And I'm grateful I've met you too. You might still be the same hard headed player from back then, but now I understand why you are a bit better."

"I'll be first to tell you that you're probably wrong." He smirked, placing his hand on her shoulder. "But I'll let you live in your little fantasy. At least for now."

"You can't just take a compliment, can you?"

"Nope." He chuckled, lightly bumping the top of her shoulder with his fist. His gaze then caught up staring at her, noticing the purple gem earrings she had on. "But I can sometimes give one. Nice earrings, the suit you."

Asuna's cheeks glowed faintly, hidden to almost everyone as she smiled. "Thank you, they were sort of a last minute thing I got and decided why not?"

Unfortunately for her, Nadar was the one who was able to see the faint blush, causing him to mentally frown. _'Why? Why did you have to do that to yourself, Asuna?'_ He thought with regret, keeping up a smirk as the whole group gathered around.

' _It'll only hurt you in the end. And I'm sorry when it happens.'_

* * *

 **(A/N): Holy shit this came out longer than expected. Honestly this was going to be a simple chapter, but I couldn't find a good stopping point that would avoid making this a strange two-part that has one 4,000 word chapter and another 6,000 one. So they kinda just blended together in a hope of making it decent enough. I'm not sure if I'll have another 10,000 out for some time, but considering how the rest of the SAO arc is that might be the case. And if so, probably expect them to come out a little slower than normal. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and hope it wasn't too all over the place and paced to an extent.**


	14. Ragout Plans

"Lizardman on the right!" Kirito called out, blocking a scimitar from a skeleton warrior on both his left and right. The moment the two skeletons landed their blades against his, Kirito maneuvered the swords up and cut across their chests, spinning to the one of his right and sending a flurry of slashes.

"Got it!" Sachi responded, shooting out and cutting across the lizardman in a flash of bright blue. As she slowed to a stop, she quickly turned around and parried an attack from the mob, landing two slashes across its side as she moved across it again.

Both then had to narrowly avoid a Dexterity skill from the monsters, retreating back and running from the three. When they heard more sword skills being activated, the two looked to each other and nodded. The moment they heard the mobs rush after them, Kirito activated a Dexterity skill while Sachi activated an Agility skill. When the mobs finally reached them, the two jumped to the sides and lined up their attacks.

Lunging forward, Sachi cut across all three of the mobs' backs with one swing of her Moonlight Sword, causing significant damage as her skill wore off. But before the three could recover, Kirito ran right at them and cut across the lizardman's chest. When the two skeletons reared their swords back to attack, he swung with both his Elucidator and Guilty Thorn, cutting diagonally down both their torsos before spinning and cutting horizontally across their legs. Swinging up, he finished the two with vertical slashes, cutting right through them. All three mobs were destroyed within nearly the same second, causing them to all shatter into nothingness before the two.

Both Sachi and Kirito sighed in relief as they sheathed their swords, their rewards menu appearing in front of them as they did. Looking through them, Kirito gave a disappointed frown as he saw his col count. "I didn't get too much from these three. Not nearly as much as from the last batch."

"Me neither." Sachi sighed as she looked down. "We're not going to get enough col until probably after fighting the next boss. Why is this floor so bad with col drops?"

"Probably because we're over 20 levels for it." Both initially went for their weapons, but stopped when they saw Hachiman walking towards them. "Wow, a little jumpy there, huh?"

"Sorry Hachiman." Kirito apologized as they lowered their arms back down. "We've been grinding here for almost the entire day now. Anything that's moved we've been taking down to get enough col."

"Sheesh, talk about going into overdrive." Hachiman responded. "You've probably dried out all of the mobs here an hour ago. Now there are only scraps lying around for you to pick off."

"Yeah, we might have gone a little overkill."

* * *

"So why are you two grinding this place all by yourselves?" Hachiman asked as the three settled down in a safe zone in the Labyrinth, relaxing against a rock wall as they ate sandwiches.

"Well, three days ago we were all working together here, but Nadar decided to take a break from leveling." Sachi explained, looking over to the lancer. "He's currently hanging out with Liz, doing some quests to get her some metals she needs. And Nadar asked that Silica came with her so that they could do it easier."

"Really?"

"Nah, he probably did it so that Sachi and I were able to grind alone." Kirito spoke, taking a break from eating to speak. "We've been trying to save up as much col as we can, and I think Nadar noticed our disappointment with the past three weeks haul we've gotten here. So I think he's taking this break so that we can get all the col we can without worrying about splitting it."

"Must be nice not having to worry about him ripping you apart." Hachiman chuckled, getting laughs from the two sword users. "I'm honestly still surprised he's given you that much space. Before floor 68 he would've thrown you off Aincrad for just hugging, now on floor 74 he's letting you two go on private hunt dates?"

"I know, we were thinking back then that he'd never let us have a break." Sachi laughed, smiling as she thought of her brother. "But he's been really supportive of us, even giving us gifts for our marriage."

Hachiman would smile as he looked to the two's hands, seeing the silver rings on their ring fingers. "Those rings look good on you two. I'm glad you're able to have some peace among all the chaos that's been going on for almost two years."

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Sachi realized. "It's October 5, that means there's only a little over a month before we've been stuck here for two years."

"It's been so long, but it only feels like yesterday that we got here." Kirito added, looking through the Labyrinth corridors as he finished his sandwich. "Honestly I'm surprised how far we've made it in that much time."

"Not without the roadblocks we've had." Hachiman said, referring to how they've hit a major delay after floor 68. The floors got incredibly harder out of nowhere, making the 10 levels above the floor rule no longer applicable. Now they had to be at minimum 15, and that was to just avoid being one-shot.

"But we've managed to keep a solid record during the past couple months." Sachi encouraged. "Not a single member of the Assault Team's died since we got to floor 68, that's amazing given the constant losses we've had getting to that point."

"And hopefully we can keep that up for the rest of the game." Kirito spoke, although looking down as he did. "At least that's what'd be ideal, but we're coming up on the next Quarter boss."

"Yeah, we'll be lucky to make it out of there without at least ten casualties." Hachiman nodded. "And that's taking into account that we're at the level recommended to take on the next 25th floor. We'll have no idea what's going to be waiting for us when we get there."

Before the thought could rest in the three's heads, Kirito's menu popped up, revealing a message from Nadar. The swordsman's eyes skimmed through the message, reading it before sighing. "Looks like Nadar and the others are done farming for material. He's asking when we're going to head back."

"We've been out for almost the entire day now, we should probably meet with them back home." Sachi said. "After all, Silica, Liz and I still need to get the last ingredients for tomorrow."

"For tomorrow?" Hachiman asked, standing up along with the two. "Something big going on tomorrow for all of you?"

Kirito and Sachi looked at each other for a second, seeming confused by his question before realizing what was wrong, and turned to him. "That's right, you've been apart from us for over a year now, which means you weren't there for when we figured it out." Sachi stated, confusing Hachiman further.

"Could you please give me a straight answer for once and stop making me ask questions?"

"Nadar's birthday is tomorrow." Kirito answered, causing the lancer to stare in shock. "We found out last October when he went out on a hunting quest alone. He whispered it, but my detection was high enough to hear him say "Happy Birthday" to himself."

"Wait, so you're all planning to throw him some kind of surprise party?" The lancer questioned. "You've had this thought of for a year and didn't tell me anything?"

"Well you've been really busy with the commander on the front lines, so we thought we'd be bothering you with it." Sachi admitted.

"Oh come on, I'm not stuck up like the guy." Hachiman responded. "Sure I've been putting a lot of effort into my work with Heathcliff, but taking a break to hang out with you guys was never a problem to me. I just thought that after what happened… it'd be best to leave Nadar be."

"Well I'd say it's time you made up for that." Kirito stated, walking past Hachiman while patting his shoulder. "He never blamed you, not for a single second. So you really had nothing to worry about."

"Wh-what?" Hachiman stuttered, turning to the two as Sachi smiled back to him.

"Nadar hated himself for letting you leave, but he's too proud to admit that." She added on, causing the lancer to follow them. "If he didn't act like he wanted you to find your own path, he would've been begging you to stay. You had that affect on him for a long time now."

"But… how?" He asked, walking next to the swordswoman as they traversed the empty Labyrinth. "We only knew each other for a few months before I split from the guild."

"I think you underestimate how strong the bonds Nadar forms are."

"He's like a dog, honestly." Kirito chuckled. "Once he gets attached to you, there's almost nothing that can break his trust."

Sachi elbowed Kirito's side at the comparison, getting a small grunt from him as she did. "That's a rude thing to say Kirito."

"It's not entirely like I'm wrong though!"

Kirito's pointless justification brought laughter to the three, bringing the mood up for them as they moved through the area without any mobs spawning. Back then most players on the front line would've used a teleport crystal to get out of the Labyrinth instantly. But after floor 70, the crystals had started to apparently run dry, their spawn rate dropping to around 4%. So as a result, the days of hunting would become longer, the trip now having to account for the walk back.

Normally it was just a hassle to the players, but when the three had stepped out of the Labyrinth and had been walking in the forest for a few minutes, all of them stopped as their detection went off. Slowly looking to where the alert went off, their attention was brought to a small creature hidden in the bushes.

When the name of it came up, all three stared in shock. _'No way, that spawned?'_ Hachiman thought, reaching for his belt and grabbing three throwing knives. Both Kirito and Sachi stood down as he readied a Throwing skill, allowing him to throw all three at once.

The first knife struck at the tree beside it, causing the creature to try and jump out of the way. However, the second knife impaled into its paw while it was in the open, revealing a pure white rabbit. And by the time the rabbit turned to the three, the third knife had gone into its head, killing it instantly.

When the rabbit died, Hachiman's menu opened up to reveal the drop he got from it, giving confirmation of what the three had come across. "Guys…" Hachiman said slowly, turning to Kirito and Sachi. "Please tell me Sachi has a high enough Cooking skill."

* * *

"No way, you found a Ragout Rabbit?" Agil asked in pure shock, looking at his trade menu with disbelief. "How on earth did you find an S-Class ingredient like this?"

"I mean, it just spawned and we killed it." Kirito admitted, leaning against the counter in Agil's shop alongside Sachi. "Hachiman's Luck caused it to spawn, so I guess we owe the find completely to him."

"Well if that's the case you sure you all don't want to keep it?" Agil asked back, turning to everyone in his shop as he did. "Something like this is a once in a lifetime find. Wouldn't you want to have it for dinner instead?"

"That's the problem." Sachi whined as she looked down. "My Cooking Skill isn't high enough. I've been focusing all my alternate skill points on baking lately and I don't have enough points to avoid burning it."

"I told you not to start doing that." Nadar stated as he sat on one of Agil's couches, Pina resting on his lap as he idly pat the dragon. After getting his new axe, he had managed to find a new piece of armor: a grey and white coat similar to Kirito's old Midnight Coat from floor 1. He also had a pair of metal gauntlets on, both reaching up just to his elbows and a new set of black boots. "Cooking was something I could understand, having that helped us avoid getting in rough spots when cash was low. But baking is purely for the pleasure of tasty sweets. We didn't need to have those in comparison to higher class food."

"You seem a little bugged at that." Lisbeth noted, sitting in one of the chairs next to Nadar.

"I remember hearing about a Ragout Rabbit back when I knew someone participating in the beta." Nadar recalled, looking disappointed as he scratched Pina's chin. "It sounded pretty good, although the Cooking skill required wasn't nearly as high as it is now."

"Yeah, I remember that." Hachiman responded, leaning on the wall next to the door. "I tried it once and it was pretty good. Although I didn't have a very high skill so it probably didn't taste nearly as good as it could have."

"And now we have a bunch of special stew ingredients that we can't use." Nadar added in, looking over to Silica who looked away in shame.

"I'm sorry, it's just when I heard that Sachi and Kirito actually found a Ragout Rabbit I thought that it'd be something nice to have for lunch." The girl admitted, feeling embarrassed at her mistake.

"Ah don't be, I'm not ridiculing you." Nadar said, patting the girl's head to comfort her. "You're intention was good, albeit rushed at the idea of a good dinner. What I'm more concerned at was the need to buy ingredients like Casper Berries and Yonu Jam. I know Sachi's combined some interesting ingredients, but those aren't meant to be added into meats."

When Nadar brought up the extra ingredients the three had bought, everyone was sure to keep their mouths shut. Even Agil caught onto the situation and would attempt to change the subject. "So are you sure you want to sell the rabbit? I mean I know that you can't cook it right now but this is S-Class! Couldn't you put it in a storage unit until Sachi's a high enough level?"

"The rabbit has a short durability." Kirito answered. "It won't last more than one day. If it was cooked it could last longer, but raw it's a make now or hold your peace ingredient."

"Damn, talk about a disappointment."

"What's a disappointment?" Hearing the new voice, everyone's attention turned to Asuna, who walked in to just behind Kirito. Behind her was her bodyguard Kuradeel, a man who by his hair would probably look a little greasier in the real world but by his face he seemed that he'd be lacking in eating. A rather unpleasant man to look at in general.

"Hey Asuna." Nadar welcomed the player, waving with his free hand. "Weird seeing you here, didn't expect the grand second of the KoB to come to such a busted down shop."

"Don't forget who gets you your crystals jackass." Agil muttered under his breath, eyeing at the executioner.

"What's that about? I was just checking to make sure all of you were okay, you do tend to have a bad track record in reporting in." Asuna responded, the whole room's attention turning to Nadar as a result.

"Not like it's anything new." He shrugged, smirking as he stared to the rapier user. "But if that was really it, you could've just checked your friend list. Pretty sure Sachi and the others would've popped up."

"Yes, but someone's been adamantly stubborn about accepting people outside of his guild into his list. So I had to come myself to know what your condition was."

"Well, other than disappointed we just missed the one in a lifetime meal I'd say everything's alright." Nadar said, confusing Asuna.

"What do you mean by that?"

It was at that moment that Kirito's eyes widened in realization and he spoke up. "We found our chef."

"Huh?"

"No way, that's right!" Sachi added in, realizing what Kirito was leading to. "Asuna's always had a higher cooking skill then me, there's no way she can't have the proper stats."

"Wait, so you mean-" Silica started, being interrupted by Lisbeth as she cheered.

"Rabbit's back on the menu!"

"Okay, hold on." Asuna said, getting everyone's attention. "What is this all about? I feel like there's something you aren't telling me about."

"Hachiman got a Ragout Rabbit earlier when he, Sachi and Kirito were leaving the Labyrinth." Nadar explained, shocking Asuna as she turned to him. "Sachi doesn't have a high enough Cooking skill to avoid any risk of burning it, and with S-Class you can't leave any chance of failure. So we pretty much had no chance of getting it made. But with you here, that might change."

"A Ragout Rabbit!?" She then turned to the three mentioned players, getting in their faces. "Is he serious!? You all managed to get one!?"

"Y-Yeah." Kirito responded, opening a trade menu to show her the item. "So what do you say? If you cook it for us we're all willing to share it with you. We even got some extra ingredients to make a real feast out of it."

"What do I say?" She echoed, smiling as she stepped back. "I'm offered the chance to taste the best tier ingredient in all of SAO, and all I have to do is cook it. You can bet on you're life I'd say yes!"

"Well then, looks like that's settled." Nadar smirked as he got up. "Looks like everyone's going to be getting a good meal tonight."

"Alright!" Both Silica and Lisbeth cheered, with Pina landing on the former while giving her own enthusiastic chirp.

"Sorry Agil, looks like we're keeping the Rabbit after all." Kirito said as he turned to the shopkeeper, everyone following Asuna out as they exited.

"Well I mean, you'll at least let me taste it right?" Agil asked, getting a suspicious grin from Nadar as he was the last one out.

"See, we'd love to, but the meal's already going to be spread thin and any more and they might not get enough. How about I ask them after it to see how good it was and send you a message about it? Cool, bye buddy!"

"Damn, that is cold." Agil groaned as the executioner left.

"So, I'd guess I'll be cooking at your guys' place?" Asuna asked, walking next to Kirito and Sachi at the front of the group.

"Well, it'd be rude to make you cook it at yours since we have the supplies." Sachi responded. "And besides, our place has more than enough space for the seven of us to fit in."

"You're probably going to have to move a few tables around though." Hachiman said, looking over to Nadar as he did. "Good thing you have the top Strength player in the game huh?"

Nadar blinked twice at the call out, slowly stopping before responding. "Oh, right. I forgot to tell all of you." His response got everyone's attention, all turning around and stopping to hear him. "I already have plans tonight with Klein and Argo. We're going for an info quest that's supposed to give a lead on what we'll be dealing with for the next boss. Considering we haven't found a thing yet, I figured this would be a good opportunity."

"But I thought you wanted to eat the rabbit as well?" Lisbeth questioned, everyone seeming honestly confused and surprised at his revelation.

"Oh believe me, I would love to try that S-Class delicacy." Nadar admitted, putting his hands on his hips as he sighed in disappointment. "But I had this set up with them since this morning, so it'd be a dick move to pull out now and leave the two on their own." Before anyone could speak up again, he held his hand out and shook his head. "And I won't let any of you go in my place, I promised I'd help them and I'm a man of my word."

"We weren't offering." Lisbeth responded.

"Yeah, well I knew you definitely wouldn't." Nadar stated with a blank stare. "You consume anything that gets within twenty feet of you. So obviously you wouldn't pass up the chance for S-Class food."

"Why you!" Lisbeth shouted as she ran at him, throwing her fist in an attempt to hit him. Nadar didn't even register the attack as a threat and just caught it, not even phased despite the blacksmith's Strength stat.

"Liz, you're almost 20 levels below me. What did you expect was going to happen?" He asked as he spun her around, releasing her fist and pushing her with his foot. "Now why don't you all get going and enjoy your meal while you have the chance? I'll make up for my bailing out tomorrow."

"Jerk."

"Eh, guilty as charged." He shrugged, turning his attention over to Kuradeel. "Speaking of guilty, I guess you're not going to be needed around anymore. Considering your boss is going to be with the others."

"On the contrary, I cannot allow her to be alone with such a shady batch of players." Kuradeel responded, looking down to Nadar as he did. "I've heard of the Moonlit Black Cat's reputation, and aside from being the most disruptive guild you house the most dangerous in the entire game. Something that I cannot simply overlook."

"Okay buddy, listen up here. Only two of us are shady, and while Kirito may look like an emo freak he's probably one of the nicest guys in this game."

"Um… thanks?" Kirito said, sounding far more confused than anything.

"Kirito just… don't say thank you." Hachiman sighed.

"And even then, what the hell kind of a chance do you think you have if things did turn bad?' Nadar asked the swordsman. "I never even heard of you, so I can only assume you're one of the common KoB players. Meaning you're at least ten levels bellow everyone in the MBL. Kirito is one of if not the best player I know, and a hell of a leader too. Meanwhile you make Nosferatu look like he belongs on the front cover of a beauty magazine and the skills to match."

"What did you say about me?" Kuradeel questioned, glaring down at the executioner with hatred.

"Oh trust me, you don't want me to answer." Nadar responded with grin. "I can come up with a whole lot more for the likes of you. You gross, greasy, fallible-"

"Nadar." Sachi spoke out, giving her brother a measuring stare.

Nadar relented, rolling his eyes due to her stare. Reaching for a teleport crystal, he'd ready himself to meet up with Klein, stopping for a second to look over to Kuradeel one last time. "You're ugly, that's what I was getting to." Before the knight could even respond, he teleported away, leaving the group in a flash.

* * *

"So is that guy normally like that?" Kirito asked as the group entered their house, looking over to Asuna for an answer. "He was watching Nadar the whole time he was there, and was probably going to do something if we weren't in a safe zone."

"Kuradeel's just my bodyguard." Asuna responded. "Since our guild numbers have risen as much as they have, the commander deemed it necessary that all the higher ups have an escort."

"That doesn't make sense though." Sachi said, walking over to the kitchen along with Asuna. "You're more than capable of defending yourself, and since we took care of Laughing Coffin there isn't any criminals that could pose a threat to anyone on the front lines."

As the two began to talk, Hachiman and Kirito sat down at the table. Both remained quiet, looking down as they thought about the chances of Laughing Coffin really being done for.

Hachiman knew that from the players they did catch, there's not a single chance one of them could have been the leader. Nadar had detailed how dangerous PoH really was, but also made it clear that he wasn't really a fighter. He could go toe-to-toe with others, but from how it seemed the assassin preferred to be the brains rather than the brawn.

As for Kirito, he was well aware that PoH had escaped during the battle. He had let him go in order to save Sachi and Silica, a choice that he still doesn't regret. And while he could've beaten him, Kirito was scared of the man and his influence. He didn't even know what PoH was like before he had fought against him, but he learned quickly just what he could do. He made him question just how much he could trust Nadar, the person who he's been with the longest in SAO. They trusted each other more than anyone else, and PoH shattered that trust with just a tiny bit of deceit.

' _Laughing Coffin isn't over, not until he's taken care of.'_ Both thought, unaware of the two's shared opinions as everyone else continued to talk.

* * *

"Here we are!" After a few minutes of cooking, everything was set up and prepared at the table for dinner. The Ragout Rabbit was fittingly made into a stew, and the scent alone made everyone's mouths water. And along with it were varying side dishes such as small Gepo snake meat and grilled vegetables.

"Thank you for the meal!" Every cheered before they started to eat, the atmosphere of the room rising as everyone took their first taste of the stew.

"This… is hands down the best thing I ever tasted." Hachiman said in utter shock, the different textures and flavors completely overwhelming his virtual taste buds.

"It's like I died and gone to heaven." Lisbeth agreed, sighing in bliss.

"I didn't think food could taste this good!" Silica cheered.

"I never thought I'd get to eat S-Class food, this really is a dream come true." Asuna spoke to herself, relishing the taste of the meal she and Sachi prepared.

"I couldn't imagine a better possible meal being made. Nothing can compare to this." Sachi added in, closing her eyes to really focus on the taste.

When everyone had finished commenting, Kirito was notably the only one not eating or praising the food enthusiastically. Something that had caught Sachi's attention almost immediately. "Is something wrong Kirito? Do you not like the Ragout Rabbit?"

"Huh? Oh, no, no it isn't that." Kirito responded, looking over to Sachi with a smile. "It's the best thing I've ever had. I didn't know there were flavors like this in SAO or the real world."

"Then why are you eating so slowly?" Silica asked. "You usually dig in to whatever Sachi makes. If it's that good to you, you would've practically eaten it all by now."

"Well… I'm just saving some is all." Kirito stated, confusing everyone. "You know, since Nadar's birthday is tomorrow and all? I thought it'd be good to surprise him with some of the stew along with the cake Sachi made."

Almost everyone's eyes widened with realization, most having forgotten that the executioner's birthday was tomorrow. Although out of all of them, Asuna was the only one to stand up in shock, looking over to the Black Swordsman. "Wait, his birthday is tomorrow!? Why didn't anyone tell me!?"

The swordsman recoiled back instinctively, caught off guard by the Lightning Flash's response. "Sorry! We've been caught up with so many stuff that we forgot to tell you. We forgot to tell Hachiman as well so…"

"We only remembered to tell Klein and Argo a couple weeks ago because we ran into them in a dungeon." Sachi added in. "Why did you want to know?"

"Well it's just… I've been meaning to give him something for a couple of months now." Asuna admitted, slightly flustered as she sat back down. "There hasn't been a good time to bring it up though, so I've kinda just held onto it."

"Well, then I guess tomorrow will be the best day for you to give it to him." Lisbeth recommended.

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Silica agreed, looking over to Asuna with a smile. "Nadar's promised to go hunting with us in the Labyrinth tomorrow, you could party with us and give the item to him as a present!"

"I… I don't know. Are you sure?" Asuna asked.

"I mean, we don't have a problem with it." Kirito stated. "Sure the col will be thinned a lot, but it'd be great to have you party up with us."

Sachi then giggled, holding her hand to her mouth in amusement. "I can only imagine the amount of shock and confusion Nadar will have when he sees you join our party."

"And hey, it'll be nice to have another person around that doesn't insult something every five minutes." Lisbeth added in. "Seriously, we need five people at minimum to balance out the bummer that lug of an axe user brings with him. And it'd be a nice change of pace to have someone who can keep up with Sachi and Silica's speed."

"Well, if you're all okay with it. I accept the invitation." Asuna smiled, getting laughs from the group.

"I'd come along for the trip, but it'd probably get a little too cramped for all of you if there were seven players." Hachiman responded. "And besides, I'm meeting with Heathcliff at noon to discuss the boss raid plans again."

"Well, we probably won't be heading out until around ten." Kirito brought up. "We can keep ourselves busy grinding for a couple of hours for you to meet up with us. You can even head in with Klein when he and some of his guildmates come."

"The Fuurinkazan are going as well?" Hachiman asked, getting a nod from the MBL members.

"Of course, do you really think Klein would miss his Red Hair Bro's birthday?" Lisbeth chuckled, loving the information of Klein's title for his and Nadar's friendship. "He's even going to have Argo brought along to celebrate."

"Argo too?" Asuna questioned.

"After floor 1, almost every player avoided Hachiman, Nadar and I because of Nadar's standing as a player killer." Kirito explained. "We got as far as we did because Hachiman and I were beta testers, but even then there was a lot of stuff changing on us. Argo was the only info broker that wasn't afraid to do business with us."

"Now that I can remember." Hachiman chuckled. "The look on Nadar's face when Argo stared up right into his eyes and said "You're shorter than I expected" was priceless. I couldn't tell if she earned his respect quicker than anyone or just broke him into accepting her."

"Knowing him, probably both." Sachi chimed in, getting a round of laughs from everyone as they'd then continue with their meal. Recalling stories from the beginning of their entrapment in the death game almost two years ago. For some strange reason, the hellish first couple of months almost seemed as enjoyable memories, comparing the difficulty they face now making it seem like child's play.

* * *

After almost three hours of just sitting around and enjoying their time, Hachiman, Lisbeth and Asuna were making their exit, staying outside for a few moments so that they would be sent off.

"Thank you for cooking the meal Asuna, we wouldn't have been able to enjoy it if it wasn't for you." Sachi said, bowing to the rapier user in appreciation.

"Oh, it was no problem. Thank you for inviting me over and even letting me join your party." Asuna thanked back, bowing mutually to the group. "It was a lot of fun. I'm glad I was able to spend this time with all of you."

"It's a shame we won't ever get to eat something as good as that again though." Lisbeth half whined. "It's going to make every meal after this feel like eating instant ramen."

"Instant ramen isn't that bad." Kirito responded.

Sachi would then lightly pat Kirito's cheek, sighing as she smiled. "Only to you Kirito. Only to you."

"Hey."

Hachiman chuckled at the sight. "Well, give me a message when you all find a good spot during the hunt. I'll be sure to get there as soon as I can."

"Don't do anything too risky." Kirito reminded. "We can stall Nadar for as long as you need to meet up with Klein and the others."

"Hey, other than Argo we're talking about Assault Team professionals." Hachiman said, weighing his hands in accordance to the situation. "I think we'll be able to risk the rushing a couple minutes. I mean this is something big we're talking about here."

"Big to us anyways." Silica smiled.

"Just make sure to keep him busy until the fun can begin!" Hachiman responded as they began to leave, waving back to everyone.

"Well, now that that's out of the way." Kirito began to say as he closed the door, looking back to Sachi and Silica. "How do we explain to Nadar why Asuna's in our party without giving ourselves away?"

* * *

"So let me get this straight." Nadar spoke as he, Kirito, Sachi, Silica and Lisbeth were all waiting in the town Calmdet on floor 74. "Heathcliff, for whatever reason, has half the thought that since I'm suddenly rejoining the front lines after my break, that we'll end up on some random crazy quest."

"Yep." Kirito responded calmly, keeping a cool expression under Nadar's gaze.

"And that for whatever reason, that quest might end up fighting the boss?"

"Correct."

"And so he's sending Asuna with us as a way to keep me, ME, in check?"

"That is what we told you, yes."

Nadar would stare at the four with a blank expression, shaking his head as he regarded them. "You all really take me for an idiot, don't you?"

"That is the impression you leave on us." Lisbeth commented.

"Says the one who wanted to go take on a dragon when she has virtually no combat experience."

"I know it seems strange Nadar, but that is what the commander said." Sachi spoke up, keeping the two from bickering again. "He really is expecting something happening today, so it's best if we just go with it."

"Yeah I don't believe that for a second." Nadar responded. "You're all up to something, I know when you're scheming. So don't think for a second that you have me fooled." He then crossed his arms, giving all of them a measured gaze. "We're only going on a fetch quest for some ore that Liz is trying to get, nothing big ever happens from that. And for Big Red to just lend his second for something that simple? Not a chance in-"

"Look out!" Before Nadar could finish, the sound of the teleport platform behind him activating and Asuna's panicked shout caused him to turn to her. Seeing her trip off the platform and fall towards him, he only had a few seconds to react and reach out to her, catching her while keeping both her and him from falling over.

"Whoa there!" Nadar called out as he held her up. "What's with the sudden and rash ent… rance…" As he was finishing his question, he had realized that in the process of catching her, he had absolutely no idea where he grabbed her. But when he was gripping her to keep a hold, he felt the soft sensation between his fingers before realizing where his hands were.

One was held just at her hip, keeping her balanced while held in the air. His right hand, however, was held onto her chest, feeling her breast through her equipment.

Both their faces were bright red as they stared at each other, neither seeming capable of even saying anything with the current situation. The others weren't off much better, all with a mix of shock at the two's positions, the youngest of the four covering her eyes in embarrassment.

' _Oh… fuck.'_ Is what ran through Nadar's mind before Asuna reacted, shouting in embarrassment as she punched him right in his face. While it wasn't nearly enough to send him flying, Nadar lost his hold on her and skidded back several feet, a grid bruise forming where she punched for several seconds before fading away.

The punch had knocked the sense back to Nadar, who fought the subconscious urge to motion his right hand in any way. He looked over to the flustered player, who was holding both her arms over her chest in a means of protecting herself. "Asuna, I am so sorry! I didn't mean to catch you like… like that!"

The glare that she returned actually managed to make Nadar take a step back in fear, but stopped when she heard the platform go off again. Instead, she ran over to the executioner and went behind him, confusing him further as the teleport effect wore off.

"Ms. Asuna, I must ask that you stop this action at once." Kuradeel said in a condescending as he appeared, turning his guild's second. "It is difficult for me to guard your body when you keep on insisting on avoiding me."

"Wait… is this why you came out of the platform so fast?" Nadar asked, finding the player's annoying voice as a good way to try and forget the event that just occurred. "Because sir Greasealot was close by?"

"No! He broke into my house and was watching me sleep!" Asuna responded, getting all of the party to respond.

"Wait what!?"

"Well if you're careless to trust yourself with cretins like them, then clearly you can't be trusted to be out of my sight." Kuradeel spoke, walking off the platform and over to the party as they all formed close together.

"You were watching us?"

' _No way… I didn't even detect him following us.'_ Kirito thought in shock. _'When he left us there shouldn't of been a way he could keep up all the way to our house without me, Silica or Hachiman hearing him. How could he do that?'_

"Okay, so I'm only going to say this once Ratbag. You'd do well to neither talk to Asuna so demeaning or act like she isn't her age." Nadar warned as he stood firmly while Kuradeel approached them. "Oh, and I'd seriously reconsider ever getting so close to her again, otherwise I'd have to chop your thin boned arm right off your pale ass body. We clear here?"

"What did you call me…?!" Kuradeel asked through gritted teeth, glaring at the executioner in rage.

"Don't like it? No need to worry, I have plenty of others." Nadar grinned as he glared back at the man. "How about I go with… You look like Benedict Cumberbatch fucked a ghoul. Like a piece of mold growing on the street after getting run over fifty times by the sorority bus. Like the living example of every Hobbit movie ever made because of how rushed and clearly unfocused it was considering the lack of foresight and excitement in making it just like how your parents had felt when they were busy mistakenly making you."

"Enough!" Kuradeel shouted, stopping Nadar's constant rant. "How dare you mock me in such a manner!"

"Like I give a fuck how you care on the way I mock you, I mock however I want bitch." Nadar responded, his grin never leaving his face as he stood between the man and Asuna. "Gonna do something about it? Because otherwise I'll bury you under the weight of all your deepest, darkest insecurities like how everyone buries the Last Airbender movie into the abyss."

"Yes, I will." Kuradeel growled as he opened his menu, browsing through it to the duel options and sending a one-hit duel request. "I challenge you to a duel. Let us see if your bite is as vicious as your bark!"

"Wow hold on there grease bones. How about you save yourself the humiliation of getting planted firmly into that building over there and I make your face look ten times worse." Nadar chuckled as he saw the duel request pop up. "I mean God, you already have the appearance equivalent to the quality of the movie Alien…"

"That… was actually a decent movie…"

"Resurrection."

"Fuck you and duel me!"

Nadar looked back over to Asuna, his face turning serious as he did. "Is this going to be okay? I'd rather not start some trouble that you'll have to cover for."

"It'll be fine." Asuna nodded, glaring back over to Kuradeel. "I'll explain to the commander what happened."

"Alright then, I'll make this quick." Nadar said, accepting the duel request and pulling out his axe.

As the timer appeared and started to go down, Kuradeel grinned and unsheathed his two-handed long sword. "Perfect, no more talk. Now I can enjoy the sound of you falling in shame after your defeat."

"Oh man, you must be really new." Nadar responded as Asuna and the others backed up, staying back as a crowd formed around the two. "Cause only idiots fresh on the leveling stream don't have a clue on who I am. But don't worry, I'll burn it into your brain."

Kuradeel smirked at Nadar's words, his teeth showing as he felt in control of the situation. "Oh, I know very well who you are, Oda."

Nadar's eyes widened in anger at the mention of the name, his grip on his axe tightening completely by instinct. Everyone in the crowd could feel the anger coming off of him as the timer went down to 10 seconds, the two fighters lowering further into their stances in preparation.

' _Oda?'_ Kirito thought, wondering where the completely different name had come from.

' _That's right, get angry.'_ Kuradeel thought when the timer hit 5, seeing the burning fire in Nadar's eyes. _You might have strength over me, but I have more than enough speed to take you down before you can even react!'_

When the timer hit 0, both Nadar and Kuradeel activated a skill, the former's a Strength skill while the latter activated an Agility skill. The pushed off and rushed each other at nearly the same time, however Kuradeel was notably quicker as he approached the executioner. As they were just three feet away, Kuradeel raised his sword over his head while Nadar planted his feet firmly on the ground, digging them in as he began to swing his axe to the side.

"You're mine!" Kuradeel shouted as he brought his sword down, ready to cut Nadar right down his head with a fast swing.

His confidence then instantly shattered as Nadar's axe came up at high speed, slamming against his sword and shattering it in one swing. With his skill still active, Nadar widened his eyes further and pushed forward, slamming the blade right into Kuradeel's stomach and sending him flying back. The knight's back slammed hard against the teleport platform at a painful angle, folding back before he rolled over the top and continued on, crashing face first right into the building across the courtyard.

Everyone aside from Nadar's party stared in utter shock as the dust began to settle, showing his victory above in a blitzing three seconds. Putting his axe back onto his back, Nadar glared heatedly at Kuradeel as he slowly got up, his health having dropped all the way down to the red in the single swing. "Pick your ass up and leave bastard. I'm done toying with a shit show like you."

" _Damn son of a bitch, I'll gut you like a fish!"_ Kuradeel cursed under his breath as he equipped a dagger, raising it and throwing it at Nadar. The player wouldn't even react, watching the dagger approach him without hesitation.

And just before the dagger hit his face, Asuna struck up with her rapier and sent it high into the air. Kuradeel instinctively took a step back at Asuna's intervention, caught off guard by her cold glare. "That's enough Kuradeel, stand down before you embarrass the guild more than you already have."

"But, you saw how he moved! There's no way someone so focused on strength could move that fast without cheating!"

"Talk about childish." Sachi commented, disappointed that such a common and worthless excuse of losing was brought up by the knight.

"Kinda sad, really." Lisbeth added in, causing the audience to all start speak among themselves. Nothing good involving the KoB.

Needing to control the situation, Asuna steeled herself and sheathed her rapier. "Kuradeel, I hereby relinquish your duty as my bodyguard." Her order caused Kuradeel to stare in shock, surprised by the discharge. "You are to return to headquarters and await the commander's orders."

"B-but…" Kuradeel growled against his teeth, glaring at Nadar in rage. "Bastard." Against his wishes to attack the executioner again, Kuradeel knew that he would be dealing with both him and Asuna, odds that even the players in the Assault Team say is a death wish.

Calming himself, Kuradeel relented and walked up to the teleport platform, grunting in shame as he prepared to teleport. "Teleport Grandzam." In a bright flash, the knight vanished, and with him all the tension that was building up. The crowd would then begin to disperse, the commotion and entertainment having passed and gone.

With the knight gone, Asuna could breath a sigh of relief before turning to Nadar, smiling. "Thank you for that, he's been difficult for the past week and needed to be put in his place."

"Oh like hell that's the case." Nadar responded. "You are fully capable of knocking his ass down to the dirt like confetti. And if he really needed that you could've done it in an instant."

"Well yes, I COULD have." Asuna stated. "But it'd look bad on the guild if I started beating up the players that were under my authority. And if I reported him the worst that would happen would him getting kicked out."

"So you had Nadar beat him up for you?" Silica asked, getting a nod from Asuna.

"It's much more satisfying this way."

"Wait, you knew I would fight him? Were you planning on that?" Nadar questioned, getting a smirk from Asuna.

"You have that "Stronger Than Thou" attitude, it's pretty easy to predict you."

"W-W-W-What?" Nadar stuttered, his eyes widening as he realized what had just happen. He also couldn't help but feel a case of déjà vu, which lead to Asuna's smirk growing. "So you just used me to deal with your problem?"

"Well you aren't Aincrad's Executioner for your brains." Asuna responded, causing Nadar's mouth to drop and realizing just how badly he was played. "But don't feel so bad champ. You do your job well." She added as she walked past him, tapping his shoulder as she moved. "I'll be sure to get you something nice for your trouble."

"E-Excuse you!?" Nadar shouted back as he turned to follow her, missing everyone's laughter as he focused on the rapier user. "There is a person attached to this axe damn it! I will not be used as someone's personal problem solver!"

"And like that, his suspicion is gone." Kirito sighed. "And here we went through the trouble to make a full excuse."

"Well, it still works in the end so why not?" Sachi laughed as the four moved to catch up to Nadar and Asuna.

As they all began to walk away, a cloaked figure stood on top of the town's central building. He was watching them as they made their way towards the Labyrinth, grinning as he turned away. And in the single second it took for him to turn, his hand was uncovered, revealing the Laughing Coffin logo on his glove.

"So, that's your weakness Nadar." PoH chuckled as he pulled out a teleport crystal. "How very interesting."

* * *

 **(A/N): Sorry, sorry I can only guess these author notes are getting annoying. I just wanted to say sorry for the wait. I hit a writer's block and was coming up with multiple ideas. Add on all the work I have to do and thinking clearly became challenging. Although thanks to the gaps I came up with a consideration for this story. Little mini OVA like chapters that would go into parts of the story that aren't expressed in the story directly, like Argo meeting Nadar and helping with the plan for the floor 2 boss or Klein and Nadar doing the Christmas quest. Let me know if that's interesting or not, I love reading the feedback and want to make this story as enjoyable for everyone as I can.**


	15. Happy Birthday

"Get lost!" Nadar shouted as a swung his axe across a lizardman, decimating its health with the single attack alone. When it stepped back from being stunned, Lisbeth and Silica lunged forward and struck at it. The combined attack from all two had easily removed whatever health remained from the mob, destroying it in a burst of shards.

Across from them, Kirito, Sachi and Asuna were making quick work of three skeletons, moving effortlessly around them as if they were standing still. When all three of the monsters attacked, Kirito crossed his swords and blocked all of them. Taking the opening, Sachi and Asuna jumped over him and slashed their swords down across the two skeletons on the sides. They then swapped their targets, Asuna striking one with multiple jabs and Sachi impaling through the skeleton completely.

Kirito then attacked the remaining skeleton, cutting across it in a quick four-hit combo before it could even react. And when it finally slashed out at him, he turned his back and blocked its sword by crossing his. It hadn't even managed to budge him as he twisted and cut right up it, destroying it in one last swing. As he finished his swing, Asuna and Sachi finished their combos, and all three skeletons bursted into shards.

"Man, I knew having a full party would make this easier, but I didn't think we'd be clearing it like this." Kirito commented as he sheathed his swords, looking over to everyone. "We've cleared out the usual spot in only an hour."

"That beats our record by three hours." Sachi added in as she and everyone else sheathed their weapons.

"Well when you got a team up where there are three sword users and three variants, that's how it usually goes." Nadar smirked, patting Silica's head as he did. "And thanks to Sili here, we're getting tons of items and more EXP. Looks like all those points you put into Luck were useful for something huh?"

"It'd help you out as well you know." Lisbeth commented. "The amount of loot you bring in is always so small, it's no wonder you could only afford bread to eat earlier in the game."

"Money was never the problem. And besides, I had better things to do then grind out places in the middle of nowhere to make mediocre weapons like you did."

"Says the guy using the axe he requested from me."

"Not requested, shamed you into making."

Everyone laughed at the two's bickering, the banter serving as a temporary pause for the party to relax. "So what should we do now?" Asuna asked. "Go back and clear through the area a few times or move further into the Labyrinth for more farming?"

"I'd say move in more." Nadar said. "I've spent the past couple days doing nothing but boring fetch quests for Pinky here and need to really stretch my legs."

"You volunteered to go on those." Lisbeth reminded him.

Nadar rolled his eyes in response, waving back to her as he walked ahead. "Only out of pity Liz, only out of pity."

That got another laugh out of the party, and they all began to follow. At the back of the group were Asuna and Lisbeth, acting as a rear guard while Nadar and Kirito took the front. They were sure to keep a couple feet from each other, as a sure way to avoid traps.

"So… you've gotten pretty close to Nadar?" Asuna asked Lisbeth, quiet enough so that no one else could hear.

The blacksmith nodded as she looked to her friend, smiling as she responded. "Yeah, we've been going on quests nonstop for some time now. Whenever he isn't on the front lines with you and the others, he and Silica have been helping me get material for my shop. It's made getting to know him a lot easier."

"Well… I'm glad for you." Asuna stated, looking down as she did. "I guess it was only a matter of time before you got together, huh? You two got along so well shortly after just meeting, it was honestly surprising."

"Huh?" Lisbeth hummed as she leaned her head forward. "What do you mean by "got together"?"

"You and Nadar dating, I heard about it from Argo that you two were going to try and be in a relationship." Asuna answered, confused as to why Lisbeth needed confirmation. "You've both been doing quests with each other for a few months, that's plenty of time for you to form a lasting bond."

Asuna was then confused further as Lisbeth began to chuckle, finding it difficult to avoid laughing. "Oh my god you mean… pfft, you seriously think that?"

"What's so funny?"

"You, Asuna, you're funny." Lisbeth chuckled as she placed her elbow up on Asuna's shoulder. "Nadar and I basically scrapped that a week into trying it."

"Wait, you did!?" Asuna sounded shocked, having not even heard of that. "But you two have been going on quests for so long now, and you got along so well when you met."

"Yeah, it did start off good." Lisbeth shrugged, taking her elbow off Asuna. "But after a week of getting to know him and spending so much time with him, things kinda just changed. By then he started to act more like how he does around all of you to me, and that casualness kind of gave the signal that the spark was snuffed. Kirito likes to call it the Nadar Effect."

""Nadar Effect"?"

"Nadar's gotten to know at least a few girls by now, and all of them generally started with a small crush with him." Lisbeth explained, smirking as she waved her hand. "But the more they got to know him, that crush went away and they only saw a friend in him. Silica even admitted that was the case for her at first before she saw him as a brother."

"Wait, who are the other girls that he knows?" Asuna asked.

"Hmm, that's a bit of a tough one." Lisbeth responded, putting a finger to her chin as she thought. "There isn't that many that I know about, other than Argo he's only ever talked to Yolko and a girl named Yuna. Probably just a few here and there that lost interest and left when he rejected them. I know I've seen one or two like that. Why do you ask?"

"N-No reason." Asuna stuttered, looking away as she did. "I was just confused when you said that other girls have had a crush on Nadar and sort of…"

"Sort of…?" Lisbeth followed with, waiting to see if Asuna would continue. When she didn't, the blacksmith would tilt her head as she thought before her eyes widened in realization. She would then lean towards Asuna, smirking as she nudged her side. "Oh I get it."

"Get what?"

"Hehe, someone else has her own little crush on the Assault Team's executioner." At Lisbeth's words, Asuna's whole face brightened in embarrassment. "I bet that's why you made your gift for him in the first place, isn't it?"

"N-No it isn't! I-I-I made it back on floor 51 because he-" Before Asuna could try to defend herself, Lisbeth slapped her back, keeping a wide grin as she looked at the rapier user.

"It's okay, you don't have to defend yourself or anything." Lisbeth chuckled as Asuna began to lag behind a bit, causing the blacksmith to look back to her. "But some advice, as someone who tried to be in a relationship with him and failed; don't wait too long to tell him, it'll be better if you say it sooner rather than later."

At her advice, Asuna stopped following for a bit to think over what she said. How waiting to say anything could honestly change what's between them. Even then, Asuna herself doesn't know if what she feels towards him is actually that. Love wasn't something she ever considered finding when trapped in this game, much less with the player with the highest kill count of actual players. But when she looked up to see him talking with Kirito, she couldn't see the killer she once considered him to be. She wasn't good at reading people, but she knew by now that his face wasn't that of a coldblooded killer, it was something much deeper than that. It's a mystery that she's been trying to figure out for almost a year now, which might explain a part of what's drawing her towards him.

"Oi, Asuna!" Nadar called out, breaking her out of her daze. "You're falling behind! If you aren't careful you'll get swarmed by the mobs when they respawn!"

"Oh, right!" Running to catch up, Asuna regained her pace with Lisbeth, who was smiling at her.

"So, you gonna do it?"

Asuna looked back up to Nadar at her question, who gave her a single nod in recognition that she had caught up before looking away. "I'll… think about it."

* * *

"And that's the last one." Kirito commented as the party finished wiping out the last group of lizardmen, having spent two hours going deeper into the Labyrinth.

"There's nothing else now but a narrow path." Nadar added in, looking over to the path surrounded by the pitch-black rocks. "Anyone wanna wager that's where the boss is?"

"Why bother betting when we know it is?" Lisbeth asked in return.

"Well, how about we all take a look?" Silica asked. "We've mapped out most of the Labyrinth now, what's the harm in getting a look at the boss?"

"That's probably for the best." Nadar spoke. "The quest I went on with Argo and Klein didn't give us much to work with. Just that it's a deadly demon with bright blue eyes."

"A demon-type boss?" Sachi questioned.

"Yeah, the first we've run in to." Nadar responded, beginning to walk ahead. "We need every detail we can get on it if that's the case. We're already here now so there isn't much reason not to."

"Hold up, at least wait for us." Kirito said, the party moving up along with him as they headed for the boss room.

When they got to the massive, demonic carved door that signified the boss, they stopped to grab teleport crystals. They weren't going to fight it, but it was best to have a quick escape if the boss catches them too deep in the room.

As the only Tank in the party, Nadar took the lead and pushed the door with his knuckles, his axe at the ready as the massive door opened. Everyone was on edge as the room was shrouded completely in darkness, making it impossible to see in even with Detection skills.

"It's hiding itself." Nadar commented as he began to walk in, surprising everyone.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Asuna asked, stepping up towards him.

"We're not going to figure anything out standing on the outside with this darkness." He responded, getting two meters into the room. "It'll be fine as long as we remain close to the door. Not many bosses have a high Strength and Agility at the same time so it shouldn't be-"

Before Nadar could finish, walls quickly sparked blue flames, the entire lower half encased in the fire. And with it, the room was completely visible to see, and what the whole party saw shocked them to their cores. A massive blue demon stood at the center, it's body covered with taut muscles and a tail that appeared to be a cobra snake. The head was that of a goat, with large, spiraling horns that alone looked like they could smash through a Paladin's shield. In its right hand was a massive zanbato, the sword's edge dug into the ground like a foreboding warning.

When the room was completely lightened, the boss' name and four health bars all appeared, revealing it to be the Gleam Eyes. It then opened its eyes, blue light escaping from it as it instantly locked onto Nadar. Letting out a bestial roar, the Gleam Eyes pulled its zanbato out from the ground and rushed Nadar, surprising the executioner with its impressive speed and slashing across his chest.

The force was more than enough to send him flying out of the room, getting caught by Kirito and Lisbeth before he could hit the ground. It was then that the players' bodies began to listen to them again, and without a moments hesitation they began to run, getting clear of the boss room as the Gleam Eyes roared once again, sending chills down the spines of everyone that ran.

"Oh man, that is not good." Kirito panted as the party all rested in one of the safe zones, having ran for a straight 10 minutes away from the boss room.

"Yeah, no kidding." Nadar nodded, all of them sitting down to rest. "That thing's weapon packs a hell of a punch. I think I lost 5,000 HP from just that one attack alone. And that wasn't counting the fact it likely has Sword skills. I'd even wager that it has a breath attack if its roars are anything to go by."

"We're going to need several shield users alone just to tire it out." Sachi added in. "This is going to be a serious endurance battle, even if it only has four health bars I can't see it going down quickly."

"Yeah, there's no way we can rely on technique to take that thing on." Nadar then looked over to Silica, who was sitting next to him while regaining her breath. "Sili's going to have to sit out of this one. That thing deals too much damage to risk her getting caught in a combo."

"No way!" Silica argued. "I'm not going to let all of you just fight that thing alone! I might not have as much health as all of you but I can still help!"

"This isn't up for discussion Sili." Nadar responded firmly. "You've been doing good in the boss raids so far because you've always been faster than the boss. But this thing without even using a skill was able to hit me before I could even react. The room's possibly the smallest one we've ever been in, so you'll have next to zero maneuverability. And since we barely know more about it, we can't risk knowing if it can go faster."

"But that isn't up to you! If it's up to anyone, it's Kirito."

The adoptive siblings then both turned to the Black Swordsman, getting him to flinch at the intense stares from the two. _'Looks like Silica's starting to develop Nadar's stubborn attitude as well.'_ Sachi thought as she smiled at the argument, recalling just how similar it was to how Nadar treated her on floor 42.

"H-How about we talk about it after we get back home?" Kirito quickly said, hoping to avoid getting caught in the middle of the two's argument. He then looked over to Sachi and Asuna, giving a desperate stare that begged for help.

"Hey, why not we drop this for now and enjoy lunch?" Sachi asked, both her and Asuna going to their inventories and summoning their picnic baskets. The result had gotten the two to drop their disagreement, but it was clear that it wasn't going to be the last time they spoke of it.

As the two passed out some of the sandwiches when offering Lisbeth and Silica theirs first, Kirito had gotten a message from Hachiman, getting his attention.

" _Yo, we're just a few minutes away from your position. Anything big happen yet?"~Hachiman_

…

" _Nothing revolving Nadar's birthday. We've started lunch a little early because Nadar and Silica were arguing."~Kirito_

…

" _Forgive me, but them arguing seems like the least likely thing to happen. Anyways, just give us a bit more time and we'll be there."~Hachiman_

After dismissing his menu, Kirito looked over to Sachi and nodded, giving her the signal. And in return she nodded before reaching into the basket, pulling out a small bowl that was covered in cooking wrap had a heating crystal attached to it.

"Here you go Nadar, something special for you today." Sachi said as she handed him the bowl, confusing him as he took it.

"Um… okay?" Nadar responded, not sure as to what to take from it. Removing the wrap, he was caught off guard when he smelled the contents, the leftovers of the Ragout Rabbit they had last night. It was steaming nicely, courtesy of the heating crystal, and downright looked like the best food he had ever seen in SAO. "W-What is this?"

"The leftovers of the Ragout Rabbit that we saved for you." Sachi answered as she handed him a spoon, smiling as she saw her brother's shocked reaction. "It didn't feel right that you didn't get to have any last night, so we all saved a little bit to make sure you got to taste it."

"Guys I… I don't know what to say." Nadar said, honestly seeming overwhelmed by the offer they had given them. The honest expression of gratitude on the executioner's face was both a new and welcomed experience, the sight managing to relieve the entire party of the tension that had built up.

"You don't have to say anything Nadar." Asuna responded, smiling at the boy. "Just enjoy it, I'd say after almost two years of being on the Assault Team earns a S-Class meal."

"Well… well I… thank you for the meal!" Nadar thanked as he lightly bowed to everyone, actually catching them off guard with the action. And before they realized it, he was beginning to devour the ragout, eating with more enthusiasm than they had the night before.

' _Man, he's enjoying it even more than we did.'_ Kirito chuckled as he watched Nadar eat the ragout, barely taking time to actually enjoy the meal. _'Guess that means we really did the right thing here.'_

' _I'm not going to lie, I thought he was going to be mad that we saved some of the rabbit for him.'_ Sachi thought, knowing how much Nadar normally hates them not listening to him. _'The rabbit must be just that important to him.'_

"And he makes fun of me for my eating." Lisbeth muttered, watching the executioner eat, taking a bite of her own sandwich to avoid being heard.

Suffice to say, the ragout didn't last much more than two minutes before Nadar was finished, sighing with content as he held the empty bowl in his lap. "Oh god, that might have been the best thing I ever ate. Two years of hell honestly doesn't seem that bad of a price for food like that."

"I've seen you devour an entire sandwich in seconds, but I don't think I've ever seen someone try to savor a meal while also shoving it in their mouth like that." Asuna said, getting a nod from Nadar.

"Yep, I'd get that." He responded, looking to the roof of the cave with a distant stare. "I'm just glad I got to actually taste a S-Class meal. I completely wasted the first year here eating nothing but bread."

"He's usually stubborn about getting something without working for it." Sachi explained, answering the unspoken question. "On days when we didn't bring in a large haul of col or EXP, he'd go into town and buy bread rather than eat at home. He's also a bit of a cheapskate."

"Hey, those swords I got you two weren't cheap." Nadar responded. "Be glad I did save all that col for so long. I nearly went broke paying for those and my axe."

"You know, that actually reminds me of something." Asuna brought up, getting the party's attention. "You got Kirito that new sword back then, but he's still running around using Guilty Thorn. Why is that?"

"Believe it or not, I wasn't actually a high enough level to wield it at first." Kirito said, surprising her. "I don't know what Lisbeth did to it, but it was leveled up and refined so much that I couldn't even use it properly."

"Nadar dropped over 300 Dragon Ingots on my table when I told him that nothing could make that basic sword equal to an Elucidator." Lisbeth added on, remembering how shocked she was at seeing all the material he had. "I have never seen so many ingots in someone's inventory at once, and when I was done the sword was refined to the point it glowed constantly."

"I'm at a level now that I can use it, but Nadar also told me I couldn't use it until the time was right." Kirito stated. "Although he hasn't said exactly what the right time is."

"It has the name Redeemer for a reason." Nadar chuckled as he rested back against the stone wall. "You'll know when to use that sword, I know you will."

"Oh man, why'd the come so far into here?" Klein half complained as he, Hachiman and at least four other members from the Fuurinkazan entered the safe area, surprising the party into standing up. "The amount of mobs we had to go through really gets tiring after so long."

"Ah, why complain? It's a good way to grind in preparation for the next boss." Hachiman responded, laughing at the Red Samurai before looking ahead to everyone. "Hey guys! Good seeing all of you!"

"Klein? Hachiman?" Nadar questioned, confused at seeing the two having shown up. "What are you guys doing here? I thought you already clocked out on your grinding for the next couple of days?"

"Well yeah, but there's nothing wrong with getting a few extra thousand EXP is there?" Klein asked back as he and his party approached the others. "And why act so disappointed man? We hardly ever get to see you on the front lines like this."

"It's nothing… I'm just surprised is all." Nadar responded. "Mostly on the fact you usually only travel with your whole guild. It's a little confusing on why so few of you came."

"Most of the others wanted to spend the day relaxing, so we picked up Hachiman and a few others to balance out the numbers."

"A few others?"

"Good a' see ye' back on the front lines Nadar." Argo grinned as she moved ahead of the Fuurinkazan, surprising Nadar at her appearance. "'Bout time ye' got off that lazy butt and went back ta' work."

"Okay, what is she doing here?" Nadar questioned to Klein and Hachiman. "Last time I checked, bringing an info broker to a still uncleared Labyrinth is both reckless and stupid. Especially when said info broker has the lowest attack and health."

"We asked them to bring her with them." Kirito explained, stepping up next to Nadar.

"And why, in the hell, would you do that?"

"What's the problem Nadar?" Argo asked. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're concerned about my well being."

"Aside from the fact you're the only info broker that I can tolerate? The only thing left on this floor is easily the most dangerous non 25 floor boss I've ever seen." Nadar looked back to Nadar, irritation in his eyes as he stared at the Black Swordsman. "First Liz wanting to get new metals, then Asuna surprise joining our party, and now all of them? What are you all planning?"

Kirito would look back to Sachi, who nodded once and opened up her inventory. "Well Nadar, we all had something planned for today. Since it's a special occasion."

"Special occasion?" Nadar echoed. "Special occasion for what?"

"Oh, I think you know." Lisbeth smirked as everyone smiled, confusing and actually creeping out Nadar.

"The fact that I don't know makes this a whole lot weirder." He said, looking back over to Kirito. "I mean seriously, you haven't done anything in October last time I recall. So forgive me if I don't know much about what's going on."

"Come on man, there's no need to act so confused." Klein stated, wrapping his arm around Nadar's shoulders. "We get that you aren't a big celebration guy, but I think it's fair you give yourself today at least."

"Guys, seriously, I have no idea what's going on." Nadar responded as he freed himself from Klein. "I know that I have something going on in October, but none of you have any investment in it. I mean hell, if I can't remember it then it couldn't be that important."

That had gotten surprised looks from everyone around, having been caught off guard at the statement. "Wait… do you honestly not remember why today is important to you?" Asuna asked, everyone staring at him with concerned eyes.

"Honestly? Most days are the same to me nowadays." Nadar admitted. "After being stuck in here for a year, stuff that mattered back then started to get crossed off in my head. Why, is it something important?"

"Well of course it's important!" Sachi responded. "It's your bir-" Before she could finish, everyone's ears perked up at the loud stomps of metal boots coming from the safe zone entrance.

Turning, they all stared in surprise as they saw about 25 players marching together. The group was all wearing heavy armor, the same gear that went along with the ALF uniforms. Almost all of the troops seemed absolutely exhausted, likely not used to fighting such high level monsters.

"The hell? The ALF?" Hachiman muttered, voicing confusion among the army's approach.

"That's the big guild that runs floor 1. What are they doing here?" Klein added in, his voice sounding more concerned than actually confused.

' _The porcupine must be up to something.'_ Nadar thought as he glared at the army, thinking of the orange haired player back from the first boss fight. All the way up to floor 25, they were at odds, but after the slaughter of his guild thanks to his failed strategy they basically stayed in the Town of Beginnings and never left. So he knew there had to be a big reason for them showing up like this.

"At ease!" At the commander's orders, the entire army all fell down exhausted, trying desperately to catch their breath after the constant fighting. That brought more concern to the rest players' eyes, albeit for Kirito and Nadar who remained concentrated.

"I'm with the Aincrad Liberation Army, Lieutenant Colonel Corvatz." The leader introduced, walking up to Kirito, Asuna and Klein who were standing at the front.

"I'm Kirito, leader of the Moonlit Black Cats." The Black Swordsman responded, acting as the main voice for the entire group. "This is Klein, the leader of the Fuurinkazan, and Asuna, vice-commander of the Assault Team and second in command of the KoB."

"I see." Corvatz noted, seeing the vastly different outfits among all of the players. "Has the area up ahead been cleared yet?"

"Yeah, we even have a map that leads up to the boss room."

"Hmm, right." Corvatz hummed before holding his hand out. "Then hand over that map and we'll be on our way."

"You want us to just give it you?" Klein questioned, pointing at the soldier with an irritated expression.

"You must think you're really somethin' demanding map data." Argo added in, crossing her arms as she looked up to the player. "Collectin' ain't easy ya know? Not to mention it's rather unprofitable to just give it like it's hot."

"We share our information and resources with civilian players all the time, and we don't charge a thing for it!" Corvatz stated, clenching his hand as he stared the Red Samurai down. "We maintain order in the chaos of battle, so that all players can leave this world as quickly as possible! Therefor, it is your duty to cooperate with us, so hand over that map!"

"Were do you get off acting like that?" Lisbeth glared as she reached for her mace, followed by Klein who went for his katana.

Before either could do anything though, Kirito held his hand out to them, calling them off. "It's alright. I was planning on giving the map out to everyone so that we all had a plan." He then opened his menu, going through to begin transferring the data to Corvatz. "I might be trying to get money, but it never felt right charging people for map data."

"You could learn a thing or two from him Argo." Nadar commented to the smaller player.

"Bite me."

"When he got the information, Corvatz hummed once before nodding, turning back to his men. "Thank you for cooperating."

As he began to walk toward his men, Nadar spoke up to him. "You're all going to die." His words caused Corvatz to stop just short of his troops, everyone else looking to him in shock. "I know your type, think you're tough shit cause you're a decent level with mid-tier loot. But I'm going to tell you right now that going against that boss is going to result in a second massacre for you ALF idiots. So if you want to be the smart guy you'll go back home now."

"That is my decision to make." Corvatz responded simply, surprising the others further.

"Hey man, we've just taken a look into that room and saw what we're up against!" Kirito shouted. "That boss is going to wipe you all out if your men are half dead! Just look at them, they're all exhausted!"

"Nonsense! My men are tougher than that! They won't quit until I say so!" Corvatz shouted before going to his men. "Come on move!" At his orders, the soldiers began to pick themselves up, still exhausted and just barely managing to keep up with him. The other players all watched as they marched away, the executioner among them shaking his head in disappointment.

"Oh man, are they all going to be okay?" Klein asked.

"Why should we care?" Nadar asked back, closing his eyes. "Whatever happens now is all on them. We gave them the warning and they just followed Corvatz like a herd of sheep. If they get slaughtered then that's all on… on…" When the executioner opened his eyes, his fists were slightly shaking, anxiety running through him as the soldiers were now long out of sight.

"God. Fucking. Damn it." He said as he began to walk ahead, confusing the others. "What are you all looking at me for? I know you were going to guilt trip me into it anyways, so why not just save the trouble and go for it?"

That brought smiles to the entire group, especially Sachi and Silica as they were the first to follow after him. Lisbeth, Hachiman and Kirito followed shortly after, along with Argo and most of the Fuurinkazan.

When he was alone with Asuna, Klein would speak up while rubbing his head. "Hey Asuna? I have a favor to ask."

"Huh? What is it Klein?"

"Ever since you're guys' duel you've both been getting along better, and…" Klein started saying, trying to think of the right words before continuing. "Okay, I'll come a clean with this. Nadar's brutish, pushes most people away, and is obsessed with fighting, but he's a nice guy at heart. And while me and the others have gotten to him a bit, we haven't been able to get him to relax as much as you have."

"I guess what I'm trying to say is… could you please watch over him?" Klein asked, surprising Asuna with the request. "He's like a little brother to me and I've done the best I can to try and help him. He's hurt on the inside, more than anyone I thought I'd ever meet, and he needs someone to help him heal. Kirito, Sachi, the others and I have done a lot, but there's this boundary that he just won't let us past. I don't know if he'll let you, but I feel like if anyone at this point could do it it's you. So could you please do this, for him if anything else?" Finishing his speech, Klein would bow down respectively, showing just how much this all meant to him.

The whole thing had actually caught Asuna off guard, not expecting Klein of all people to ask such a favor from her. She had learned over time that the Red Samurai and Aincrad's Executioner had some history, but for him to see the axe user as a brother brought to light just how close their bond has grown since the day she first met the samurai.

It brought a smile to her lips, seeing how similarly her connection to Nadar had grown since then. "Okay." She answered, her face brightening as the Red Samurai looked back up to her. "I promise you, he's in good hands."

* * *

"Ha!" Hachiman shouted as he thrusted his javelin forward, impaling a lizardman just in time for Klein to cleave its head right off. The two parties have been following the trail of the ALF group for almost ten minutes, clearing the mobs out from behind them to avoid any potential problems.

"Well, that's the last one." Lisbeth stated as most of the players sheathed their weapons. The only one still holding onto his weapon was Nadar, who was acting as a guard for Argo to avoid her getting blindsided.

"And we haven't seen any of the ALF come back either." Sachi commented, looking in the only direction they could go. "The only thing left is the boss room."

"Hey, maybe they decided to teleport out and bail when they saw what they were up against?" Klein threw in, sounding hopeful as it had remained mostly quiet.

"AAAAHHH!"

"You were saying?" Nadar shot back rhetorically as Kirito and Sachi both began to run, the executioner and Asuna following before the others all started running after the two.

When they had all reached the boss entrance, they stared in shock at seeing the army in complete shambles, half of the players downed and with health closing in to red. The only ones who were still able to stand were shield users and Corvatz, the player standing in the front like an actual leader. No one knew how long they were fighting, but given the fact that half their forces were down and that the Gleam Eyes' health was hardly scratched, it was clear the soldiers were fighting a losing battle.

"Hurry, use your teleport crystals and get out of there!" Silica shouted to the players, staring helplessly as the boss raised its sword up for an attack.

"We can't!" One of the soldiers responded, holding a teleport crystal as two shield users were blown back by the boss' swing. "The crystals aren't working!"

"An anti-teleport trap in a boss room?" Argo stared in shock, the information scaring the player to her virtual bones. "There's… there's never been a trap like this before. There hasn't even been an anti-teleport area since floor 60."

"We can't just stand here and do nothing, can we?" Klein questioned as he reached for his katana.

"We can't." Kirito responded, his hands shaking as he looked down. "We could go in there, but there's no guarantee that we'll be able to hold that boss off for long enough. And even if we could, there's no telling if there isn't a trap that keeps people from leaving after the battle's gone on for a certain amount of time."

"But we… we can't just leave them alone." Asuna said shaking as she stared at the soldiers getting decimated. In the short time they got there, five more soldiers had been knocked down and sent into the red. Only eight remained capable of fighting, and aside from Corvatz they seemed barely able to stand. Her instincts were screaming to help, but at the same time she knew that running in could be suicide.

"If we knew more then we might have a chance." Hachiman stated, looking down as he managed to keep himself reserved. "But I can't even think of what this boss could do. I've seen a boss like it before in another game, but this thing looks like it's on a whole other level. I don't even know the first thing on what to do against it."

"Hold strong men!" Corvatz shouted, pointing his sword up to the Gleam Eyes. "We can't back down, under no circumstances can we fail! Fight with your hearts and give it your all!"

"No don't!"

"Charge!" At Corvatz's order, he and the remaining players all rushed at the Gleam Eyes, shouting with spirit despite the suicidal odds they were up against. It wasn't long until their charge was instantly backed, as the Gleam Eyes fired an instant breath attack that knocked all of them off their feet.

"No…" Asuna muttered as her hand shakily reached for her rapier, seeing the boss stomp towards the downed players. "No…" As it raised its massive blade into the air, glaring down at Corvatz as a sword skill was readied, her fingers were just grazing the hilt, causing the metal to clank.

" _We didn't deserve to die."_

"Asuna don't!"

"NO!" When Hachiman reached out to grab Asuna, he and everyone were shocked when Nadar ran past them, his axe glowing green when he shouted. "Marauder's Malice!" At his shout, his eyes flashed red for a second and the Gleam Eyes stopped it's attack, turning to Nadar and swinging right at him. He deactivated his skill and blocked the attack, but was sent sliding back into the wall.

"Nadar!" Kirito shouted as he unsheathed both of his swords and ran in, the executioner's charge acting as a catalyst for all of them to rush in.

"Get them out of here!" Nadar screamed at them as they stepped in, parrying the boss' attack and sending it into the wall. Lunging between its legs, he slashed across its right leg and spun around, his back now in the open. "I only have a minute before Marauder's Malice wears off! After that it's going to go after the soldiers again!" He then dodged away from the boss' next attack, debris hitting his side and causing him to lose health.

"We can't just leave you!" Sachi responded. "That skill doesn't do anything to boost you Nadar! You might get killed in that amount of time!"

"Marauder's Malice?" Lisbeth questioned, looking over to Argo for an answer.

"It's an agro skill, one that only Marauders can use." Argo explained. "It draws the attention of any kind of monster within a hundred meters, turning them into a beacon for monsters to follow and attack. It's dangerous because it has the widest AOE but offers zero buffs to the player."

"I can survive long enough!" Nadar argued as he took a blow from the boss, grinding his feet into the ground and swinging his axe up, cutting up the monster's leg. "Just get them out of here before it's too late for them!"

"Damn it." Kirito grunted as he stopped, looking over to all of the soldiers. All of their health was now in the red, some so low that their health was almost impossible to see. "Klein, can you and you guild try and get them all out?"

"We can try, but we need more time." Klein responded, sheathing his sword while he and his guild ran for the ALF.

"Sili, go with them!" Nadar shouted, blocking another attack from the boss. "Have Pina heal the ones in the most danger of running out of health. Liz, go with her to act as defense! Argo! If you have any health potions use it to help the recovery as well!"

"U-Um okay!" Lisbeth responded as she and the others turned to the soldiers as well, surprised at Nadar suddenly taking charge.

"Kirito, you and me will parry the attacks the boss throws and try to keep it staggered!" Nadar continued as he jumped back, getting cut across his shoulder as he gained distance from the boss. "Asuna, Sachi, Hachiman! You'll all attack the moment we block it! One of you hit its free arm to avoid it having any recovery attack!"

"Got it!" Kirito shouted back as he ran up first, catching up to the executioner to back him up. The Gleam Eyes would raise its sword as it began to glow orange, a skill activating as it began to swing down. Kirito's blades both glowed blue while Nadar's glowed red, the two attacking at the same time and hitting the blade in retaliation. The Black Swordsman was in shock at how much damage he took from the exchange, but remained focused as the boss staggered.

At the moment it took a step back, Hachiman ran forward and struck out with an Agility skill, blasting the boss' right hand and knocking it out of the way for Asuna and Sachi to attack. The two jumped over both Kirito and Nadar with readied skills, Asuna sending a barrage of jabs at the boss' chest to keep it reeling back while Sachi slashed across its head to deal more damage.

When all three speed fighters touched the ground, they all jumped back and avoided the boss swinging its sword. Nadar and Kirito both readied their skills again and swung out to meet it, exchanging in another set of blows and managing to keep it at bay. Kirito was struck by a surprise punch from the boss, but managed to keep his footing and prepared another skill to help the others with dealing damage.

The way they were fighting against the Gleam Eyes started to bring back memories to Nadar. The pattern and method was almost exactly like that of when they fought against Illfang, bringing back the dark memory of the first boss and the toll it brought.

His hands tightened around his axe as he blocked the next attack from the boss alone, his health dipping lower and growing closer to yellow. Even with his impressive health, the boss' freakish attack damage was chipping away at it like it was nothing special. And even with a more balanced exchange going on, it scared him at the thought of what would have happened if anyone fought this monster alone.

As the five players fought desperately against the boss, the others were all just starting to get the soldiers out of harms way. While Klein and his friends were able to carry two soldiers at a time, they had only just got the first batch out before in the time that had passed. As they did, Pina was going around and healing the players who couldn't move. And Argo was giving potions to the ones that were being moved, making sure they could heal before anything sudden happened.

And for the whole time, Lisbeth watched in astonishment at the five players fighting, seeing the teamwork and wordless communication going on. Among them all, she was staring as Nadar was selflessly tanking all of the attacks, making sure that Kirito was taking as little damage as possible.

Aside from the executioner himself, everyone fighting had below the average amount of health for the front lines, none going over 20,000 HP. All of their stats we set up to hit hard and hit fast, making it vital that all of them avoid getting hit directly by the boss' Sword Skills.

When Nadar's Marauder's Malice had run out, at least half of the soldiers were now out of the boss room. The others still weren't in the clear, but they were lucky enough to now at least have their health in the yellow. It didn't guarantee their safety, but it meant they had a better chance of surviving if the boss got too close.

"We might all make it out of this." Klein said as he picked up two more soldiers, making his way over to the exit as he lugged the two. Looking over to the fight, he saw that the five were managing to do some decent damage, dropping a bar of health off the boss.

"Here, I got you." Silica said as she reached down to Corvatz, confusing him as she helped him up.

"What are you doing?"

"You took the most damage in that last breath attack, you're at the lowest health of your army." The tamer responded, struggling to lift up his heavy armor. "And that roar has a paralysis effect as well, you need to get out of here before it gets too dangerous."

"Thank you…" Corvatz said, looking down in shame at being rescued. "None of you had to come for us, you could have left us like the Executioner wanted to."

"Nadar was the one that moved first both times." Silica stated, surprising the soldier.

"He did?" Corvatz muttered as he looked over to the executioner, seeing the punishment he was taking.

' _Why would you do that?'_

"How much longer do we have to hold this boss off?" Kirito asked as he looked back to the others, seeing that the half the players were still in.

"We need 'nother two minutes!" Argo responded, getting a health potion to the last soldier.

"We don't have two minutes!" Hachiman shouted as his javelin stabbed into the boss' shoulder, ripping it out to the data blood spilling out of it. As Asuna and Sachi approached to attack it again, the boss' eyes snapped open and suddenly began to glow red, confusing them as they readied their blades.

When Nadar saw the eyes change, his thoughts went back to the night before, recalling the information that Argo had gotten from the quest.

" _We know not of the monster's strength or power, but of the frightening rage it possess. And when it gets cornered losing half its life force, it rises to a level beyond its previous and unleashes an unavoidable attack."_

Nadar's eyes then widened in shock as the flames in the room exploded and changed color to red, the whole room now appearing like a hellish spawn as the boss breathed in. "Everyone watch out!" Even though he shouted, the executioner knew that there was no chance for the players to avoid the attack, and as a result the Gleam Eyes fired a massive breath of fire at the ground.

The flames exploded violently the moment it touched the ground, sending all five players crashing at the other side of the room. The explosion wasn't small either, spreading and hitting everyone else and sending them down to the ground in a crash, devastating every player's health in some way.

Everyone's health aside from Nadar was sent directly to the red, all varying as they took different amounts of damage. The executioner had taken the most, having been closest to the blast, but was still in the yellow thanks to his Vitality. However, as he tried to push himself up, he realized that even the explosive breath caused paralysis, keeping him from moving.

"I can't… move." Kirito grunted as he tried to force himself up, his swords cluttered to his side as he let go of them during the blast.

"A fire breath causing paralysis… I didn't think that was possible." Lisbeth groaned as she was knocked onto her back, her health halfway through the red.

"So heavy…" Silica whined as she was knocked down on her face, her and Argo both dangerously low in the red. The two were close to each other, and both weren't able to move more than their heads thanks to their HP points.

Following everyone's stun, the Gleam Eyes stared down all of the players as it slowly stomped over to them. Feeling it walk rather than seeing, both Silica and Argo's eyes widened in terror as the boss' shadow slowly covered them. Being the closest and the ones with the lowest health, the two were drawing the boss' agro away from everyone else. And being unable to move, the two could only shake as they realized what was about to happen.

"Silica! Argo!" Kirito shouted as he tried to get up, falling to the ground when his arms gave out.

"No, don't!" Asuna tried in vain, knowing the boss wouldn't listen to anything they said.

As they did, Nadar reached for Hachiman's belt, gritting his teeth as he grabbed one of the throwing daggers on the spearman. Hearing the boss roar as a warning, he acted as fast as he could and stabbed the dagger into his arm, catching Hachiman's attention.

"Nadar?" Hachiman questioned, seeing the player start to repeatedly stab himself. It wasn't until the fifth stab that he realized what he was doing, and in a fight of pure will, he reached for his javelin and tried to push it into the player's skin. He was barely able to do it, but as it went in, the executioner was beginning to have a continuous drop in health.

But before their plan was about to work, the Gleam Eyes' sword glowed to life and it swung at Silica and Argo, everyone's eyes widening in horror as it moved. But in a surprising and sudden act, Corvatz was somehow able to move and ran ahead of the two, shocking everyone as he took the attack head on. His shield was shattered instantly and he was cut across his body, sending him flying back and into the wall.

His helmet shattered shortly after he landed back on the ground, revealing his shocked expression as he blinked, tears running down his face. "I… I'm sorry…" He said weakly before shattering, sacrificing himself.

Nadar's eyes widened further in shock for a second before they narrowed, impaling his arm with the dagger one last time and sending his health into the red. The moment it did, the paralysis effect on his disappeared and he was able to get up and grab his axe. Glaring in rage at the boss, he ran at it as fast as he could while activating a Strength skill, hitting it in the stomach to stop it from making another move.

' _I can't hide it anymore!'_ Nadar shouted in his head as he looked up to the boss, seeing its eyes glow brighter as it looked down to him. As it readied another Sword Skill, Nadar's eyes matched the light of the boss' as they turned red.

"Marauder's Malice: Full Force!" Wisps of red then began to leave from Nadar's body, confusing everyone as he released his left hand from his axe. And when the Gleam Eyes swung its sword down, Nadar's glare intensified as he threw his hand up, challenging the boss without running.

When his hand touched the blade, the executioner clamped his hand down hard and grabbed it, pushing with enough strength to stop the blade before it hit his shoulder. The whole room turned silent when he stopped the boss' attack, his health barely dropping by some miracle as he looked into the boss' eyes.

"You what? I'm done." Nadar growled as he kept the sword still, the glow from his axe slowly spreading across until the rest of the crystal began to glow. "I've held it in for two whole years. I think it's finally time…" He then pushed forward, causing the Gleam Eyes to step back several times from the force.

"I LET OFF SOME STEAM!" Shouting in pure rage, the wisps around Nadar shot out in full force as he ran right at the boss. The boss recovered and punched out at the player, getting stopped as he swung his axe forward, slashing its knuckles and knocking the hand up.

"I hate every single person in this god forsaken game!" The player continued to shout as he took a slash from the boss, his health taking a small dip before he recovered. The glow of his axe increased further, and in an instant he swung and cut across the monster's chest, his damage output shocking everyone as it took a quarter of the boss' second health bar.

"They're ignorant, loud, zealous fucks who don't have any kind of filter in the slightest!" As he kept shouting, Nadar and the boss were beginning to trade blows. For every attack Nadar gave it, the boss returned four more, but even then his health was still grasping on. "They all either have the inescapable desire to fucking out kill the other in the dumbest strategies possible! Causing the responsible players with half a fucking brain cell to put more effort to keep their shit eating lives around!"

"And what fucking good has it done!? We lose more skilled players, valuable resources go to the rejects that don't deserve the light of day in both this world and in the real one! And out of every god damn worthless shit of a person that's every breathed a single gasp there's nothing I hate more than these bastards that can't make their own god damn decisions!"

Slamming his axe forward, Nadar matched a blow from the boss that caused both of them to drop drastically in health. Although the Gleam Eyes still had a full bar that was significantly better to Nadar's measly 5 HP, the player wasn't even phased as the res wisps intensified one last time.

"What the hell is this?" Klein questioned in shock at the display, unable to think of anything else to even think of saying.

"This skill… what is it?" Argo questioned as well, appearing more terrified than shocked.

"Kirito… you recognize that right?" Hachiman asked, sounding calmer despite his beating heart.

"Yeah…" Kirito responded, thinking back to the last time he had seen Nadar in this condition.

' _He looked like that back on floor 2 during the boss raid.'_ Asuna remembered, thinking back to the desperate battle against the three stage boss fight.

"And then the worst part of it all is the fucking disaster party I surround myself with!" Nadar screamed as he swung his axe forward, the blade getting caught by the boss and doing enough damage to drop it into the yellow of its final health bar. "Bunches of go lucky happy brats that do nothing but spout on about helping others and growing as a person! They pushed so much on me mentally and emotionally that I should have snapped after day two!"

"And it pisses me off how I can't die anymore!" Nadar revealed as the wisps all surrounded his fist, an unarmed skill activating as the Gleam Eyes prepared a sword skill. The skill in Nadar's fist was glowing brighter and brighter, the orange default mixing with the red and causing a mixture and burst of flame like power to appear around his whole arm.

Snapping his eyes wide open, he threw his fist forward at the same time the boss slashed down. "I can't die until I know each and every one of them will make it out of this game alive! So I can't lose! I WON'T!"

"NADAR!" Everyone shouted as the sword was just inches from Nadar, the attack more than enough to erase the last inch of his health.

But before it could, the executioner released his axe and ducked down at a speed beyond his control. Placing his arm on the ground, the floor around him cracked under the pressure, but remained solid enough that Nadar could plant his feet and bring his fist up. "THIS! IS FOR SARAH!" Using all the strength he had, Nadar slammed his powered fist right into the boss' stomach, an explosion of red going off that completely enveloped both the boss and player. The light continued to burn for several seconds until it suddenly vanished, revealing the two in the same finished postures before the light.

Time felt as if it had stopped completely at the moment, no one daring to breath as they watched the Gleam Eyes' health drop from the punch. It was a game of patience that scared everyone that was watching, hoping that the boss would just die before it could recover.

And as luck had it, just as it was about to move its sword, the Gleam Eyes' health dropped to 0, signaling its death before it shattered into fragments. At the same time, everyone's paralysis wore off and the fires all went out, a faint light keeping the room from descending into total darkness.

With the boss now gone, the wisps that had surrounded Nadar slowly went away and vanished, revealing that his arm up to his elbow had completely burned away from the attack. His health had dropped all the way to 1, the red not even visible at how close it was.

Nadar remained in the same posture, his eyes looking up to see the **CONGRATULATIONS** banner pop up. "Only… one more left." He whispered weakly, all his strength gone as he took a step back. His vision was blinking in and out as he felt his focus slip, his eyes closing as he collapsed and hit the ground in a thud.

"Nadar!" Seeing him collapse, Asuna was the first one to her feet, running over to him almost the second he hit the ground. Everyone else followed soon after, standing around him as Asuna pulled out a healing crystal. "Heal!"

The crystal had brought back a chunk of his health, raising him far out of the risk of death, but even then he was still unconscious. "Nadar, Nadar wake up!" Asuna begged as she looked down to him, everyone staring in concern as he remained unresponsive.

While he wasn't at risk of being killed, everyone was worried if he had somehow overworked his heart. It wasn't common, but players have died from heart attacks during intense moments of a battle in the game. And since they couldn't have an indicator for it, they had no clue if he was suffering one right now.

"Please, please wake up." Asuna began to cry as she knelt next to him, one of her tears dropping onto his face.

The feeling had caused Nadar to squint, a faint groan coming from him as his eyes slowly opened. At first his vision was a complete mess, nothing but the impossible assortment of colors barraging his brain and causing him to close them again in discomfort. He eventually opened them again, now being able to see clear to see everyone around him, relief appearing on them as he finally woke.

"My head…" He groaned in pain as he sat up, holding his hand against his forehead while in visible pain. He attempted to rub the pain out, but wasn't able to get much ground. Looking over to Asuna, he saw the girl, wiping at her eyes, seeing the tears still on her cheeks. "Asuna… How long was I out?"

"Only for a couple of seconds." She answered, her whole body trembling. "You reckless idiot!" Asuna shouted as she wrapped her arms around Nadar and hugged him, surprising him at the sudden move.

His first instinct was to push her away, but before he could raise his hand up, he couldn't bring himself to it when he heard her continue to cry. So he'd allow her to continue to cry and hold him, looking up to Kirito before speaking. "Do we know… how many died?"

"Only Corvatz was killed by the boss." Kirito answered, looking down in disappointment. "We hadn't lost anyone in a boss fight for several floors now, and even though it was only one… I can't…"

"That wasn't a boss fight, it was god damn suicide." Klein spoke up. "Corvatz should've known better than to attack the boss like that. There's no point to fighting if you die."

"Speaking of which…" Hachiman said as he looked down to Nadar. "Do we need to talk about what happened just now?"

Nadar looked back down for a second, blinking once as he considered his words. "I used a skill that I got all the way back at the beginning of the game, Marauder's Malice: Full Force. It amplifies all of my stats immensely and boosts my ability that allows me to deal more damage with the less health I have. I even have a high enough Strength that I'm capable of one-handing the heaviest of axes."

"You got a Marauder skill all the way back on floor 1?" Sachi asked, shocked at the information. "But I thought the earliest you could unlock that class was floor 15."

"For the others it was." Nadar half smiled. "But I remember checking my menu after a whole day of fighting and saw it pop up in my skills. Next thing I knew, I already had the Marauder Class and stuck with it."

"Well considrin' all the skills listed I don't think anyone's gotten it." Argo responded, looking through her entire list of skills. "You've been holding something like this from us all this time? Two whole years of keeping a power like that back?"

"It wasn't exactly because I wanted to." Nadar stated. "There's a number counter next to Marauder Malice: Full Force. It has a limited use that expires after 3 times. I've used it twice now, so I can only use it one last time. After that, no more super powered boosts for me."

"So you were waiting until you felt you had no choice but to use it?" Lisbeth asked, getting a nod from Nadar. "I guess that makes sense, no point letting people know about such an OP Unique Skill unless it was absolutely necessary."

"Yeah, it also hurts like hell when I use it." Nadar added in, feeling his muscles tensing and loosening constantly. "It didn't hurt nearly as much as right now, I guess it becomes more strenuous the higher level I am. More power to amplify that damages my body more."

"It's like using One For All when you aren't used to it." Hachiman commented. "You can use it, but your body isn't able to handle the pressure that comes behind it."

"Hence the missing arm." Nadar waved his dismembered arm, confirming Hachiman's comment.

"Man, it must be worse than I thought if you lost your arm just from punching it." Klein muttered before sighing. Taking note of Nadar's party, seeing the concern still lingering over them, he felt that it would be best to give all of them some time to themselves. "Hey, we're going to go open the door to the next floor and check out the surrounding area."

"Be careful Klein." Kirito warned. "After what we just encountered, there's no telling what might be waiting on the other side."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine." Klein promised as he and his guild all started to walk away. When he took a few steps, Klein stopped to talk to Nadar. "Hey Nadar, remember how you ran in to save the army guys like that?"

"Yeah… what about it?" Nadar asked.

"It's nothing." Klein responded, wiping tears away before he continued to walk. "I'm glad that you did. See you around buddy. Happy birthday."

"…Birthday?" Nadar muttered at the Red Samurai's words, looking over to his party. "What does he mean by that?"

"You really don't remember?" Silica asked, looking in shock as he shook his head.

"I know it was in October, but I sort of forgot a couple months ago. Is it really today?"

"Yeah… it is." Hachiman said.

Following the response, Sachi opened her menu and summoned a cake, surprising Nadar at the desert. "We were planning to throw you a big surprise party today when Klein and Hachiman caught up. But that sort of went down the drain when… you know."

"Wait… did all of you know about this?" Nadar asked, getting nods from the players around him. He then looked down to Asuna, who had stopped crying but was still holding onto him. "Did you know too?"

"Only since yesterday." She admitted as she eventually released him, opening her menu. "It was a surprise to hear, but I thought it would be a good time to… give you this."

When she finally reached the item, Nadar was surprised when he saw a long red scarf in the player's hands. "Is that…"

"I knitted it shortly after we got onto floor 51, but I never knew how to give it to you." Asuna responded. "I remember your old scarf was destroyed when you protected me from the Six-armed metallic Buddha statue and thought it was only fair I gave you a new one."

She then handed it to Nadar, who took it gently in his hand as he looked at the red fabric. "We still weren't on good speaking terms, so I didn't know exactly how to approach you to give it to you. So I kept it until… well until just now."

Nadar would lightly graze his thumb across the digital cloth, feeling the textures as he stared at the deep red color. "It… it's nice." Nadar said, looking over to Asuna while smiling. "Thank you Asuna… thank you all." Everyone then stared in surprise as tears began to form in Nadar's eyes, the executioner looking back down to the scarf as he began to tremble. "You don't know… how much this means to me."

"You don't have to say anything." Sachi responded as she knelt down next to him, placing a supportive hand on his shoulder. "We just wanted to let you know you meant a lot to us, and that we appreciate everything you've done."

"Still… thank you." Nadar then smiled as he felt Asuna hug him again, his body still shaking as he closed his eyes.

"Happy birthday Nadar."

* * *

 **(A/N): Hot damn! Another 10,000 word chapter! Hell, I might as well say 11,000 because it's less than 100 away from that normally. I gotta say, this was a chapter I was waiting to write for some time. Not sure if it's the best but I certainly enjoyed writing it. After all, I got to debut my own signature Unique Skill.**

 **Just a small fun fact, Nadar had actually gone through five character changes before I started writing this series. It was a bit of jumps with both weapons and personality. First he was a swordsman and honestly after I went over it was pretty similar to canon Kirito. So I changed him to be the more serious type with a short sword. Didn't like that and made it a** **great sword jokester. I forgot what my fourth version was, but I remember the fifth just clicking and I went "That one. That's the one." And it's been a blast writing him so far. And it feels even better seeing that people enjoy his character. I have to admit, he holds a special place in my top favorite OC characters I've made, next to my Elder Scrolls and original DxD story character.**

 **Anyway, I just wanted to say all that before going off. I sat in front of my computer for three straight hours to do the entire fight against the Gleam Eyes, who I obviously buffed because I felt it didn't get it's epic second phase like it clearly deserved. Also got inspiration from the Capra Demon for how it started it's first attack. Sudden and total bullshit. But aside from that, I wish you all a good day and hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	16. Gambles

"So you made enough col?" Nadar asked, the Moonlit Black Cats all sitting at the kitchen table as they ate breakfast. Four days had passed since the fight against the Gleam eyes, and the only difference between all of them was the executioner wearing his new scarf. It was much longer than his old one, and when he wrapped it around his neck both ends were hanging down his back, going down to just before his waist.

"Yep, 4,000,000 col as a total." Kirito responded, smirking at the executioner. "It took awhile, but we have enough for that cabin on floor 22."

"Guess that means I'm going to have to hold up my end of the deal." Nadar said, opening his menu and beginning a trade with Kirito. "1,000,000 col for all the furniture, and 30,000 to buy food and supplies for fishing."

"Where did you get all of that col?" Silica asked, staring in shock at the numbers as they went through to Kirito. "I thought you lost most of your money buying new weapons."

"Our last boss fight proved to be extremely profitable." Nadar grinned, leaning back into his chair as he cross his arms. "With so little people being involved, the cut of col wasn't nearly as split as normal. Not to mention I easily dealt with most of its health I got the largest cut. And after that, I sold the item I got from getting the last attack. It was some helmet with the horns from the boss attached to it, so I figured someone on the front lines wanted it. Turned into a bidding session and I got 2,000,000 col for it. I totally robbed the idiot blind."

"And we're looking at Agil for being a stingy seller." Sachi laughed, shaking her head at Nadar's action. "Tell me you at least explained that the special perk to it wasn't meant for a heavy armor user."

"Eh, he'll have learned that after equipping it. Not my problem."

"You're cruel."

A knocking was then heard at the door, confusing the four. "Weird… I wasn't expecting anyone today." Nadar stated, looking over to the others to see if they were. All of them shook their head no, causing him to stand up and sigh. "Great, so we got some punk looking around or something."

As he walked over to the door, his good mood was visibly going away. Today is going to be one of the last days Kirito and Sachi will be in the house and he wanted to spend the day relaxing with them. But it was ruined the moment he opened the door. "Look, whoever you are we don't know…" He trailed off, his eyes widening as he saw at least a dozen players all standing outside. Most were info brokers, but he recognized two or three as members of the Assault Team.

"Hello, could you answer a few questions?"

* * *

"Yeah, I read about what happened just yesterday." Agil said as the entire Black Cats guild was sitting around the attic of his shop, various levels of exhaustion on them. "With how those army guys detailed your fight against that boss, it's no surprise that so many players were trying to get info from you. No one's soloed a boss with 50% of their health still around, especially with a Unique Skill involved."

"That doesn't make it any better Agil." Nadar groaned, his head planted on the table.

"I don't know how control was lost so quickly." Kirito spoke, sitting on the bed next to Sachi while looking outside. "It started with just 12 players, but somewhere it got out of control and then 50 showed up."

"There isn't even that many heavy axe users in this game, but everyone's treating Nadar's Unique Skill like it's the best thing imaginable." Silica whined as she sat next to the table, Pina resting on her lap.

"Well, what do you expect when he used it to take on the Gleam Eyes like he did?" Lisbeth asked, walking in with some of her smith supplies. "If there's even a chance someone could get a skill like that, knowing that he won't have it for much longer as well, would push anyone to try and find a way to get it."

"The sad part is that I'm not even too worried about the crowd that's been looking for us." Nadar said as he sighed. "They're easy to get rid of when I threaten them with beheading. Keeping any nosy ass isn't even a chore to me at this point. No, there's something even worse that I'm expecting to come up."

"What could be worse than a mob of players staying outside of the house constantly digging for information?" Sachi asked.

"Well if the news is just now spreading at the rate I believe it is, I'd say the problem will show itself in 3, 2, 1…"

"Guys!" Asuna shouted as she opened the door, panting as she attempted to regain her breath. "We have a serious problem."

"There it is."

* * *

"You know, you've got a lot of nerve pulling a stunt like this." Kirito stated as he, Nadar and Asuna all stood in center of the KoB's war room. "I get you've been trying to get us to join the ranks of your guild, but now you're not even allowing players to take a break."

"Now, now Kirito, it's a bit more complicated than that." Heathcliff responded, holding a hand out to calm the Black Swordsman. "While I would've had no problem if Asuna requested a break as she had last week, but she was asking for a complete leave of absence. All so that she could party up with your guild. We can't just have one of our top players shifting towards a rival guild, especially with the trouble that's been caused the past month."

"Wow, I almost sense concern in your tone." Nadar sneered. "If you honestly care that much about Asuna's condition, then what the hell was that disgrace of a bodyguard?"

"You have my apologies for Kuradeel, he was out of line and I'm grateful that you of all people put him in his place." Heathcliff aid, folding his hands together. "But you must understand that while we're the top guild, our numbers are taking a hit as players grow less willing to fight on the front lines. But now, we just might have a means to fix that."

"Oh? And is this where you throw in the "join us" bone again?"

"You must understand where I'm coming from in this. The Moonlit Black Cats now have two members with Unique Skills, both of whom are already within the top players. If you joined us, it would serve as a rallying cry for the other players to join us and aid in beating this game." Heathcliff then looked specifically towards Kirito. "You of all people know how much of an impact your guild has had on players in the past. You're inspirations to the smaller guilds, guilds that would join us and grow stronger if they saw all of you with us."

"Maybe, but none of that effects us in the end." Kirito responded. "There's no stakes in it for us other than giving up our family for a uniform. You don't have control of us and you don't control Asuna either."

"Yes, but while she remains in my guild she must follow my orders. I understand your guild is very lenient towards more… rebellious actions."

"I feel like that was a shot at me specifically." Nadar interrupted. "I feel attacked, if I'm being honest."

"But we have protocol and rules in the Knights of the Blood Oath. So how about this?" Standing up, Heathcliff would smirk as he stared Kirito directly into his eyes. "You will duel me with your twin blades. If you win, then I will allow Asuna to have her leave to be with your guild. But if you lose, the Moonlit Black Cats will join the Knights of the Blood Oath."

"Now hold up for a second there." Nadar spoke out again, this time taking two steps forward. "Listen here Red Menace, trying to drag this whole guild in with a single fight seems rather unfair. Not to mention Kirito's going to be on his honeymoon by the end tomorrow. Under handing him like that's rather dirty and outright stupid. There's no way we'd all agree to that."

"Oh? And what might it matter what you say?" Heathcliff questioned. "You wouldn't happen to have your own idea on how to settle this?"

"I shouldn't have to, but I know Asuna's still loyal to the guild to just leave it." Nadar sighed, shaking his head before glaring at the commander. "So how about this, I'll fight you in Kirito's place. You beat me, and I'll join your guild without so much as an argument. But when I win, Asuna leaves and you won't pull another bullshit stunt like this."

"Wait Nadar-"

"And the rest of the guild is left out of this wager." Nadar shook Asuna's hand off, stepping closer to the commander as he tightened his fist. "They have no stakes in this and have no reason to be dragged in. You get another Unique Skill, or we get Asuna and you back off. Sound good?"

Heathcliff would chuckle at the offer, his smirk widening as he looked at the executioner. "Do you really think you have a chance against me, Mr. Executioner?"

"Yippie ki-yay, motherfucker."

The response caught Heathcliff off guard for a second, but he then recovered and narrowed his eyes at Nadar. "Very well then, I agree to your terms. We'll duel in the coliseum on floor 75. I expect you to be there on time."

"Mark it."

* * *

"I can't believe you accepted a duel against the commander!" Asuna shouted at Nadar as he sat within the coliseum. It was early the next morning and the turnout of the crowd was beyond ridiculous.

"I'm honestly surprised all of you are still surprised at this." Nadar responded, cleaning his ear with his pinky while calm. "I mean I've done a lot dumber things than this."

"I think what's really surprising is the reason you agreed to this." Sachi said, looking down to her brother with a tired stare.

"Hey, are you saying it's okay to just let the commander make Asuna's choices or try to pull us into his guild repeatedly?"

"No, but you made such an important choice without so much as letting us talk it over. If you lose, then you won't be a part of the Moonlit Black Cats anymore. We'll be lucky to see you any time before nightfall."

"Well then I'll just kick his ass." Nadar returned, standing up as he flicked his finger. "I always wanted to know what would happen when an unstoppable force hits an immovable object."

"I think you're overlooking something big here Nadar." Kirito spoke, crossing his arms as he looked to the executioner. "Taking on Heathcliff isn't going to be anything easy. His skills are made to almost counter anything you do. The only thing you have going for you in this fight is your higher Strength stat."

"Then I'll work off that and see where it goes."

"Do you honestly think it'll be that easy?" Asuna asked. "Nadar, we all know just how powerful the commander's Divine Blade is. While it is true that you both have soloed a boss now, but he did it without breaking a sweat. You almost died when it was at half health."

"I wasn't there for the floor 50 boss raid, but even I can tell how much power he has to have to do that." Silica added. "You can't just fight him the same way you do with the mobs, you'll lose in a ten seconds flat."

"Don't worry Sili." Nadar said as he patted the younger girl's head. "I already have a few things in mind. True, he can probably block any swing I throw at him, but that's what I'm planning on."

"Huh?"

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing." Nadar smirked as he walked towards the arena, waving back to them as he did. "I'll admit that I'm at a disadvantage, but that wont matter when the fight picks up. Just sit back and watch the duel to end all duels."

"Do you think he's going to be okay?" Asuna asked, looking over to Kirito.

"Nadar's reckless, but with every rushed move he makes there's a plan behind it." The Black Swordsman responded, watching the executioner closely as he approached Heathcliff at the center. "He's good at reading people, and out of everyone on the Assault Team he's fought beside Heathcliff the most. Maybe he actually has a plan for dealing with him."

"It's going to take more than a plan to take on the commander." Asuna stated, looking down in concern. "I didn't care if I'd get my leave, not enough to have him risk his position with all of you."

"Yeah, but he does." Sachi smiled, placing a hand on Asuna's shoulder. "I'm nervous for him, but I know that he'll give it his all. The commander might be the best player here, but Nadar's been a contender against him since the beginning. If anyone can beat him, it's Nadar."

"I hope your right."

"You know, when you said you made this match public I was expecting maybe a hundred people to show up." Nadar said as he looked around to the crowd, seeing the thousands of spectators. "I'm pretty sure almost everyone still in the game is here. And all just for a single fight."

"You underestimate the impact you have on people Nadar." Heathcliff stated, chuckling as he looked down to the executioner. "You and I are beacons of hope for them, a light in the darkness this game has brought forth. Although I will admit, they must also be excited to see such a match. It isn't every day the game's best player get's challenged to a fight."

"Well I'm always willing to accept them, but you should probably get your head checked once we're out." Nadar grinned, grabbing his axe and holding it in his right hand. "Cause last I recalled, I made the challenge to you. You tried to challenge Kirito instead."

"God, you make it impossible to forget that ego." Heathcliff laughed, opening his menu and sending a duel request to Nadar. "But then again I of all people know that ego stems from a skill to match it. So don't expect me to underestimate you in the slightest." The commander would then unsheathe his sword as Nadar accepted the duel request, going for a normal duel until one's health went into the yellow. "So show me what you got. Go ahead, make my day."

As the timer began to count down, Nadar would narrow his eyes as he focused on Heathcliff's shield. That tower shield was easily the most broken thing in this entire game, having damage absorption no game before has had. It's the main reason the commander was as recognized as he was. He's never dropped into the yellow under any circumstances. But he couldn't let his guard down, a few good hits from him and he'd be in the yellow as well. Both had similar speed, so unless Nadar could end the battle within a minute, he was going to lose.

Especially considering the fact he wouldn't be able to use Marauder's Malice: Full Force. With only one use left he had someone special in mind for it, and using it now would be pointless. So this would be a battle based around purely skill and strategy. Something the commander was praised for while the executioner was believed to lack completely. If Nadar was known for anything, it was his brutality and ability to overwhelm his opponents with strength alone.

The whole arena was silent up until the moment the timer hit 0, and in that second very second the whole arena sprung to life. Nadar was the first to make a move, grabbing his axe with both hands and rushing at Heathcliff. The commander would raise his shield and ready himself for the incoming blow, seeing a Strength skill getting prepared.

When Nadar swung, most of the arena was in shock at seeing Heathcliff's feet get moved back two feet. While it was no question that the commander could block any attack thrown at him, Nadar's strength could go toe-to-toe with any of the bosses fought up to now. Which meant that he'd have to be more active than he was in his few previous duels.

Activating an Agility skill, Nadar lunged forward with both feet and swung overhead. Heathcliff both parried the strike and moved to the side, allowing Nadar to go several feet past him before charging. The executioner would turn to see Heathcliff rushing at him, and without so much as a second thought he threw his right hand forward, catching the end of the commander's shield as he punched it out to him.

"He can use his shield to attack?" Kirito questioned in shock, surprised at the commander's sudden move.

"He's never done it before now, how did Nadar know it was coming?" Silica added in, staring in as much surprise as her guild leader.

Using his strength, Nadar would push Heathcliff back before swinging at him again, the commander blocking it and tanking the regular strike in stride. Nadar would then grip his axe firmly and prepare a Dexterity skill, his speed increasing temporarily as he swung a five hit combo at his opponent. Sparks flew as the crystal and metal clashed, loud ringing heard as the two's signature weapons collided.

At the end of his combo, both fighters jumped back from each other, their blank faces breaking for a second to speak. "I must say Nadar I'm impressed. Your strength is as formidable as ever." The commander commented, noting that his health had already taken some damage.

"Yeah, and your shield's even more protective than I thought it would be." Nadar grinned in excitement. It wasn't often he was able to fight against a single player for a good match. The last one he had been against Asuna, but that wasn't one he could enjoy as much as this.

The two's faces then went to cold and measuring, both lunging out and attacking at one another. Both prepared a Strength attack, their collision causing a gust of wind to pick up around the whole area. After it, Nadar would lean back and block against Heathcliff's follow up with the pole of his axe. He then ducked under the third swing and moved under his arm. When he swung in retaliation, the commander was able to block the axe with his shield, the two beginning to trade attacks at an increasing speed.

As Nadar would push against Heathcliff's shield, Asuna watched in concern as the executioner was losing health, taking a cut from the commander on his stomach when he tried to get away. _'Please be careful.'_

Seeing Heathcliff rear his arm for another attack, Nadar would plant his feet into the dirt and prepare a Dexterity skill while moving his head to the side, getting a small cut on his forehead. The commander was aiming for a critical strike, trying to end the match just as quickly as Nadar was. Both knew the other's strengths and were trying to avoid giving the other the advantage.

' _As a Marauder, he gets more DPS as his health get's lower.'_ Heathcliff noted as he blocked Nadar's combo, his feet sliding back a foot from the final impact. _'And with his high Vitality, he'll have plenty of health to give up for damage. But he can't risk me outlasting him either. Attrition would be both of our downfalls.'_

"Stop zoning out old man!" Nadar shouted as he activated an Agility skill, spinning around and slashing across the shield twice before landing on his feet while leaning down. As Heathcliff prepared for a downward swing of his sword, Nadar grinned and pushed up, a Strength skill activating as he did.

As the two swung their blades, Nadar shifted his shoulder to the side just enough to avoid the sword getting buried into him. It however did drain his health exponentially and knocked him back, his health just over the yellow thanks to the attack.

"This is bad." Silica said as the two both prepared a Strength skill, the red lights fighting against each other as they readied themselves. "Nadar's health is so low that he doesn't even need to get hit to go into the yellow. Just a single block and it's over."

"He has to end this in the next attack." Sachi concluded.

' _It's now or never Nadar.'_ Kirito thought. _'Whatever you have planned, you have to do it now. Otherwise it's all over.'_

Knowing the odds himself, Nadar took one calming breath as he narrowed his eyes at Heathcliff, shifting his feet into the dirt as he prepared himself. _'All right Nadar, you've played around long enough. Steps 1-3 are done, now it's time for step 4'_

And with that last thought, Nadar gritted his teeth and ran forward, his axe glowing brighter the closer he got to the commander. Having the advantage of the executioner coming to him, Heathcliff remained focused and timed the executioner's approach. Just as his right foot got within a meter from him, Heathcliff reared his sword arm back and jabbed out to him, his sword glowing bright as it traveled towards Nadar.

Expecting the piercing attack, Nadar canceled his attack and allowed the light around his blade to vanish, surprising Heathcliff as he ducked underneath his sword. Nadar would then toss his axe up into the air, his right fist glowing as he prepared an unarmed skill. "What's the matter commander? Didn't think I could make my own plan?" He grinned as he threw his fist forward, the orange light turning blue as the Dexterity effect took over. "Swift Force!" Throwing his fist forward, Nadar aimed for the side of the tower shield, surprising everyone as he broke the commander's guard and knocked his arm to the side.

The whole arena went silent as the commander was now in a stunned effect, watching as Nadar caught his axe and prepared a Strength skill again. "This is it Heathcliff!" Nadar shouted as he swung his axe, his victory all but assured as his opponent wouldn't be able to recover quick enough.

But just as his axe was close enough, Nadar felt as if the very programming around him shift. And in the tiniest fraction of a second, he saw Heathcliff move his shield into the position to parry his axe. Nadar could only stare in shock as he was out maneuvered and lost his footing, leaving him wide open to Heathcliff's slash across his side.

The force from the attack pushed Nadar away several feet, spinning across the dirt before coming to a halt on his chest. _'H-How did he…'_ The executioner thought in shock as he laid on the ground, his health dropping into the yellow, ending the match. As the crowd began to cheer at the result, Nadar raised himself up to his knees, staring endlessly up into the sky as he tried to wrap his head around what had happened.

' _That… that shouldn't be possible. He shouldn't have been able to… how could he move that fast?'_ He'd think as Heathcliff shook his head and began to walk away. _'It doesn't make any sense. I had predicted him and got his guard broke. Not even Paladins have a quick enough recovery. I had the advantage, I knew exactly what to do but I still… I lost.'_

"How could I lose?" Nadar finally said, sounding completely defeated as he looked broken. "I thought I… was stronger than this. I haven't lost since… I shouldn't have been able to." He then looked down to his hands, a red flash of cuts across his arms appearing before vanishing. "This feeling, I remember it. But… from where?"

* * *

"Ugh, this is by far the ugliest outfit I've ever seen." Nadar groaned as he stood in his living room, wearing his new white and red uniform. It wasn't too far off from his old outfit, albeit two buckles connected the coat and a thin chest plate was underneath. He also had on a pair of grey pants and boots, the crosses decorated on each piece of clothing. He felt like he was wearing a bastard child outfit between Kirito and Asuna. The only thing he was all right with was his scarf, having been allowed to keep it since it matched the uniform.

Both he and Asuna were alone in the house, the others deciding to head out to purchase Kirito and Sachi's house down on floor 22. Although before they did leave they asked for Asuna to keep a close eye on the executioner, no one knowing if he had something planned.

"Oh come now, I think you look great!" Asuna remained positive as she sat on one of the chairs, smiling as she clapped her hands together. "It really brings out your red hair."

"I'm not sure if you know this, but I don't exactly like being brought to attention." Nadar responded before collapsing back onto the couch, looking up to the roof with a disappointed stare. "This sucks, I have to actually start taking orders from people now."

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this." Asuna said, looking down. "You got involved because of me, and now you were forced to join us."

"Don't go kicking yourself over it, I made the choice to fight him in the first place." Nadar groaned, sitting back up as he continued. "I don't get along with a lot of people, but that only means I'm more than willing to help them when it comes down to it. And despite our rough start I would still fight Heathcliff to help you, even if I knew this would be the result anyways."

Nadar then gave a bitter chuckle, closing his eyes as he began to think. "You know it's kinda funny. When we first met, I didn't think anything of you. You were just another player that I would work with and then be shunned by. Hell, you didn't even know who I was or what I did back on floor 1 we were so separate. I don't know if that meant I was that significant in the politics of this game or you were just so out of the loop."

"That… reminds me." Asuna started to say, Nadar staying quiet to let her speak. "I know it's out of my right to know, but what happened back then? I know you killed someone, but it couldn't be as simple as that." Nadar looked away in response, concerning Asuna further. "We've known each other for almost two years now, I learned since then that you don't kill someone for nothing. I just wanted to know, you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

Processing her question, Nadar grew a somber expression, his eyes conveying a deep pain that's plagued him since the very beginning of SAO. "Believe what you want, but I did kill someone. And it wasn't to protect myself either. My axe cut someone down, and they didn't even realize what had happened until it did."

The reveal shocked Asuna, her voice dying in her mouth as Nadar folded his hands together. "It was on the day of launch, just about an hour into playing. I was with four others, one of which was a friend of mine in the real world. She was a beta tester, so she showed us the ropes to level and even where the better quests were. The three others were her friends from other games, and they apparently had a tradition that they kept whenever someone new joined their group. And I…" The memory of him burying his axe into Serana's back caused Nadar's shoulders to tense, his hands shaking from the sensation. "I made the worst decision in my life."

"I killed my best friend, someone who helped me get through all of my problems in life. All because I wanted to fit in." He then looked down again as he chuckled bitterly. "And ever since then, bad things have happened to people who get too close to me. Every single person that I hold dear is constantly put in danger just for knowing who I am."

"Diavel was the first person to accept me in SAO, and because of my weakness he died fighting Illfang." He began to recount, thinking of all the people he killed or put in harms way. "Then there was Keita, Tetsuo, Sasamaru, Ducker and Sachi. They accepted me and because I wanted to be a part of their guild they died, leaving Sachi with the pain of being a lone survivor. I dragged Klein into a mess of fighting an event boss when he didn't have any stakes in it. Sachi, Silica and Kirito were almost killed because of my vendetta against Laughing Coffin for reasons they didn't even know. And then I dragged all of you in to fight the Gleam Eyes because the memory of everyone I lost coming up."

"My selfishness has put everyone in constant risk, and despite that I… I still can't help it." He looked down in shame, feeling the weight of his guilt push down on him. "I always tell myself that in the end I do this so I can end Kayaba and get everyone out of this game, but I know that isn't true. I have the life I always wanted here, and out there I have nothing left to go back to. I feel like, deep down, I'm stalling this for as long as possible, but at the same time I know the longer we're in here, the more likely I'll lose everything again."

When he had stopped talking, Asuna was sitting in complete silence as she stared at the executioner. It was clear to her that everything that's happened has left a scar on Nadar's mind. And with the story of his first kill, the player was able to realize the meaning behind Nadar's words when he attacked Grimlock.

 _"There's people here who have never felt such a bond, who would treasure it more than their own lives! And then there's those who were too late, who can never have such a connection because… because of their stupidity!"_

' _He… loved her.'_ Asuna put together as she continued to stare at Nadar, the player refusing to look back as he stared to the floor. It had all made sense when she thought about it, especially taking what Lisbeth told her into account. He's had the chance to be with someone before in this game, but every time he's turned them down. To this day he hasn't forgiven himself for what had happened to his friend, and in turn feels that he can't accept anyone else's feelings.

Steeling herself, she stood up and walked over to the executioner. Hearing her footsteps, Nadar was expecting her to either walk out or to slap him, closing his eyes in preparation for her next action. However, he couldn't prepare himself for when she sat next to him and turned him to her, cupping his face with both hands.

"You can't blame yourself for everything, not after everything you've done." Asuna said to him. "Some things are just beyond our control, even someone with as much power as you can't prevent bad things from happening. It isn't fair to put all that weight on you when you're also the one fixing problems. It's thanks to you that most of us are alive. Kirito, Hachiman, Sachi, Silica, even I'm here because of you. Back against Illfang, it was you that took a direct hit from a boss to save players you had just met. You've protected Sachi and Silica with your life, and even saved me from the strongest boss we've fought."

"Up until now, you've fought as hard as you could by yourself because deep down you feel that you'll be alone again." Smiling, Asuna pulled Nadar's face closer and rested it against her shoulder, hugging him gently. "But you won't be. I promise you that you'll never be alone again. We're all with you now and when we get out we'll find you again."

Nadar's eyes widened at her words, his body on the verge of shaking as Asuna held onto him. He could only close his eyes and hold his tears back in her embrace, both grateful and hating Asuna for what she was doing. _'Damn it Asuna… why do you have to make things so much harder for me?'_ He thought, his hand clenching onto the couch as he contained himself.

* * *

"Hold the fuck up." Nadar spoke up as he and Asuna were sitting in a room of the KoB's headquarters, glaring at Godfrey. "You mean that me, the best Tank on the front lines AND the guy your guild hires to kill assassins of the highest caliber, has to go on a training session?"

"Afraid I can't do anything about it." Godfrey shrugged. "You me and two other players are going to form a party and clear a dungeon on this floor."

"Now hold on Godfrey, he's a higher level than you." Asuna argued. "He clearly doesn't need to prove his skills to anyone here. And the commander said that he was under my jurisdiction. We're in the same party."

"And that is true, but you know the rules Asuna." Godfrey responded. "He has to go through the training like everyone else, even if he is arguably the second best player in the Assault Team."

"Arguably?"

"I expect you outside and ready in ten minutes Nadar." Godfrey grinned as he walked out of the room, pumping his fist up in excitement.

"Can I rip him in half please? Wouldn't take much more than a minute." Nadar brought up, looking over to Asuna.

"No."

"Had to try." Nadar shrugged before standing up. As he got up, he saw Asuna's disappointed look, getting him to sigh and place a hand on her head. "Hey, don't look so down. It's me we're talking about here. This dungeon will be done in 20 minutes flat. And when I get back… there's something I need to talk to you about."

"What is it?" Asuna asked, getting a shush from the executioner.

"We'll talk when I get back. Not before." He smirked before walking away. When he was out of the room, his smirk instantly went away and he looked down in shame.

' _I'm sorry Asuna. If you hate me by the end of the talk I won't blame you.'_ He'd think as he made his way out of the castle.

When he got out, he saw Godfrey standing at the gate, waving over to him with his signature grin. "Hey! We're over here, hurry up!" After calling out to the executioner, he reached behind the wall and pulled out two players, both of which Nadar instantly recognized and groaned over.

"Seriously, you're bringing out the oversized goblin and shaking coward with us?" Nadar asked the man as he reached the three players, giving a half lidded stare at his party members.

While Kuradeel is a very recent image burned into his mind, the other player Nautilus is a different story. Nautilus was a much more timid looking player, just shorter than Nadar with leaf green hair and brown eyes. Overall he was a rather basic looking player without his KoB armor and cape, but he had a bad rep among the front lines. He froze during a boss fight, forcing them to kick him off the Assault Team. And not long after, he had a similar issue when just going through a dungeon, causing Heathcliff to officially keep him off the front lines all together.

"Well yeah, we're all in the same guild now so I figured what better way to bury the hatchet?" Godfrey explained, patting the two's backs.

"Preferably in one of their skulls." Nadar responded, noticing Nautilus' flinch. Even though Kuradeel had a special spot in Nadar's list of hated players, Nautilus held an equally special place. Nadar was with him on the boss raid when he froze, and it resulted in two players dying trying to save him. If there was one thing he hated more than a liar it was a coward. Especially when the player is more than capable of actually fighting.

"About the other day, I would wish to humbly apologize." Kuradeel spoke as he bowed. "I was far out of line and overstepped my boundaries."

"Overflown is more accurate for breaking into a girl's house." Nadar stated, not budging on his views on either of the players.

"Alright, now before we go there's a rule I have." Godfrey spoke, getting all three player's attention. "You're to hand over all of your crystals for this mission. This way, we can test how all of you respond under pressure."

"Once again I do more than you do on the Assault Team." Nadar added under his breath as he pulled a teleport, healing and repair crystal from his coat, putting them in Godfrey's hand.

"No antidote?" Godfrey asked as Kuradeel placed one of the mentioned and a healing crystal on the pile.

"No, my Marauder Class allows me to break through paralysis the moment I go into the red. You know that already Godfrey."

Meanwhile, Nautilus was holding his healing and teleport crystals, looking down to them in concern. "Do I have to give up both of my crystals? What if something happens and I-"

"We're on floor 55 you coward." Nadar interrupted, glaring at the player and causing him to jump in his boots. "Anything kills you, it's because you froze up and none of us did anything to help. It's not like you're going to do any of the actual fighting anyways." He added in as he crossed his arms. "Just sit back and watch the actual players do their job while you hide like you always do."

The shaken player stared in fear at Nadar as he glared heatedly at him. The last time the two had met, it had been when the boss fight went afire. And Nadar made sure the poor player felt how much anger he had for his stun by knocking him into the dirt.

Swallowing the spit in his throat, Nautilus eventually gave up his crystals to Godfrey, taking the risk of a mob killing him over the immediate threat of Nadar. "There we go." Godfrey continued to grin as he pumped his fist up, visibly the only one excited. "Now let's go clear us a dungeon!"

"Yeah." All three unwilling members groaned while raising a single hand up, openly mocking their leader.

* * *

"Alright, I'd say this is a good time for a break." Godfrey said as the squad reached an area within the canyon dungeon. It was one of the few areas where monsters didn't spawn, although it was still a danger since it wasn't a safe zone.

The three members all took up different rocks to rest on, Nadar and Kuradeel just a few feet away while Nautilus sat closer to Godfrey. When they were all seated, Godfrey summoned four bags from his menu and tossed them to everyone, Nadar catching the last one with a single hand.

' _Just about done. A couple more minutes and I can get this day over with.'_ Nadar thought as he opened the bag, his mood souring as he saw the regular bread and glass of water. For second he imagined one of Asuna's sandwiches, the image vanishing instantly as he shook his head. _'Stop thinking about her! You'll just make it harder on yourself when you have to cut her off.'_

His expression remained somber as he ignored the roll of bread and went for the water, closing his eyes as he took the top off and start to drink it. But just as he was about to calm his nerves he felt a sting in his throat from the water, recognizing the feeling and throwing the water away. He was too late however, and saw as the paralysis effect kicked in and he fell to his back.

Godfrey and Nautilus followed soon after, the former falling to his stomach while the latter's back going against the rock wall. The only one able to move was Kuradeel who was chuckling as he threw his still full bag to the side. "Hehehehehe, hahaha, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" That chuckle soon turned to maniacal laughter, his sadistic side showing as the three players were stuck.

"What the hell Kuradeel?" Godfrey grunted through the paralysis, trying to fight against it to no effect. "You packed the water, what did you do?"

"Antidote crystals, now." Nadar grunted back.

Even with his quick inventory, Godfrey wasn't able to use his crystal when Kuradeel jumped and kicked it out of his hand, staring down to the axe user with a grin. "Poor ol' Godfrey, never really could figure out when someone was done with his shit. And here I thought you were just acting like an idiot to seem more relatable to the common trash in this game."

"Kuradeel, what are you doing?" Godfrey demanded, his expression turning to one of terror as Kuradeel unsheathed his sword.

"What I'm doing!" He shouted, slashing down and cutting into the player's back. His green icon then turned yellow, Godfrey losing a fraction of his health. "Is getting rid of some of the biggest! Loudest! Obnoxious thorns I've had to deal with!" With each shout, he cut into Godfrey again, slowly draining his health with each attack. "The over acceptance and borderline cluelessness is by far the most annoying thing about you! Are you trying to be endearing to the lower levels or something!?"

Godfrey's health was starting to go down faster with each blow, Kuradeel's sword cutting deeper and deeper into his back with each cut. "There's nothing more I'll enjoy then getting rid of you here and now! Anyone else in that insufferable guild is better than dealing with you! Even that bitch of a second!" Godfrey had given up on any chance of surviving, placing his hands on his head in hopes that Kuradeel would stop before it was too late.

"Like you have anything to say you anorexic troglodyte!" Kuradeel paused his execution as he heard Nadar, turning to face the glaring player. "I've dealt with a shit ton of prideful and idiotic players that think oh so highly of themselves. And of all of them, you are the most disgusting and unbearable one I've had the displeasure of even looking at."

"And then there's you." Kuradeel growled as he walked over to Nadar, shifting his blade to hold it in a reverse grip. "The biggest damn fake I've ever seen!" Kuradeel shouted as he stabbed the sword into Nadar's gut, twisting the blade to elicit groans of pain and to deal more damage slowly. "Someone who talks the biggest shit I've ever heard, but is nothing but a whining nobody in real life. How could you even consider yourself as superior as you do when you're nothing but a worthless shit IRL!"

"Because I… recognize that." Nadar grunted as he gritted his teeth. "And unlike you, I face that and grow stronger on my own. Not use professional assassin's to teach me a few neat tricks."

"Hehe, so you could tell huh?" Kuradeel chuckled as he looked sickly at the executioner. "Yeah, your good friend PoH taught me a few neat tricks. Just the right kind to get in a good spot in the Knights of the Blood Oath and spy on your precious friend."

"You were there for the sole purpose of watching her." Nadar concluded as he held in any scream, not giving the satisfaction of his pain to the criminal. "Why the hell would he care for something like that?"

"Because…" Kuradeel grinned as he pushed the sword further into Nadar's stomach, causing him to lose health faster. "He knows the best way to beat you, is to take everything away from you."

' _Keep talking bastard.'_ Nadar thought as he kept a close eye on his health, which was now in the yellow and steadily dropping. _'Give me a second and I'll kick you're-!'_

"Uh oh, I almost forgot." Kuradeel spoke up, pulling the sword out of Nadar just short of him going into the red. "You like your health in the red, that's when the fun stuff like poison doesn't work on Marauders like you."

"What are you going to do then?" Nadar questioned. "Kill Godfrey and the coward, but then what? You hit me again and I go into the red and turn you into a hollow carcass to use as a piñata. And if you leave me, I track you down, rip your face out from your ass and cut you into mincemeat. Either way you'll die and I'll be ridding myself of your foul existence."

"You think we don't know that?" Kuradeel asked. "My boss told me that dealing with you won't be possible if it goes down to a fight. After all, you've only ever lost against Heathcliff, no one is capable of beating you unless they have a Unique Skill. No, beating you requires a more, psychological touch."

"The hell do you mean?"

"It's rather unfortunate we didn't form an official party." Kuradeel brought up out of nowhere, confusing Nadar. "And while it's also a shame you had to leave your old party, the one you did form will be able to serve its purpose." That caused the executioner's eyes to widen in shock, Kuradeel's grin returning as a result. "The Lightning Flash must be in complete panic seeing the notorious Executioner of Aincrad's health drop so suddenly. One could only wonder what she's doing right now."

"If you think you can so much as lay a finger on her, I will rip. Your. Chest. OPEN!" Nadar screamed, his eyes wide in rage as he snarled at Kuradeel.

"Hahaha! That's the kind of look I was looking for!" Kuradeel laughed, turning to face towards Godfrey and Nautilus. "Now then, to deal with the headaches before the real party begi-!" before the player could finish, he was completely blindsided and sent crashing into one of the rock walls, falling to the ground in pain.

Nadar's eyes began to shake when he looked to his side, seeing Asuna kneel down to him and hold a healing crystal to him. "Heal!" His health instantly rose, his chance of a quick cure vanishing. "Thank god… I made. I made it."

"Asuna…"

"I saw your health take so much damage, I knew right away something was wrong." The rapier user interrupted, smiling as she looked down to him. "I'm just glad I made it here when I did."

"Asuna, wait-"

"Hold that." Asuna said firmly, standing up and turning to the rising Kuradeel. "I'll take care of this problem."

As she started to walk towards him, anger flashing in her eyes with each step, Godfrey saw something move in the shadows from the corner of his eyes. "Wait!"

"They're after you Asuna!" Nadar's words came too late as a knife was thrown into Asuna's back, everyone's eyes growing in shock as she was paralyzed and fell to the ground.

"All according to plan." Nadar slowly turned his head to stare at PoH, who walked out from the darkness of a nearby cave, looking over to Nadar. "I must say, you've made it pretty hard figuring out how to deal with you. What with you completely changing up how you act after you destroyed Laughing Coffin."

"Bastard…!" Nadar grunted as he tried to pick himself up, failing and collapsing down.

"But then luck would have it and you changed back the more she came into the equation." PoH noted as he walked over to the downed executioner, kneeling down next to him. "Oh how predictable you became after that."

"Nadar, what's going on?" Asuna asked, looking back to him.

"Well Miss Lightning Flash, it's rather simple." PoH responded instead, grabbing Nadar by the top of his head and pulling him to a sitting position. "You see, people like me and your buddy here are known to hold quite the grudges. And after he ruined the whole fun for me and my pals, I decided that the only fair thing to do is take away something from him. And what better choice than the second person he's ever allowed this close to him."

"I'm warning you now PoH…" Nadar breathed out as he stared in complete rage at the man. "You so much as touch her, there's nothing in this game that will protect you from me."

"What's the matter Nadar? Afraid that someone else will die because of you?" PoH asked before looking to Kuradeel, nodding once to the man.

Kuradeel grinned in response and jabbed his sword down, stabbing through Asuna completely. "A-AAAAAHHHH!"

"Ah, that's the most therapeutic scream I've heard all day?" Kuradeel chuckled as he pushed the blade further, Asuna's health dropping at a quicker rate than the others.

"Asuna!"

"No!" Nadar attempted to move himself forward, only to be stopped as PoH held him in place. As the assassin kept him in place, he could only move his arm, struggling to move it toward his chest. "Bastard…! I'll kill you!"

"Maybe, but what will be lost before then?" PoH questioned, smirking at Nadar's pointless struggles. At the same time, Kuradeel pulled his sword out enough so that only an inch was in her back, slowing down her loss of health but keeping it constant. "I wonder though, what will impact your mind more? Losing Serana in the blink of an eye, or watching the life fade from Asuna's eyes?"

"Stop it! Stop it now!" Nadar bellowed as he tried to break free, his hand reaching into his coat as he fought against PoH's hold. "It's me you want! You can kill me! I won't fight back! Just leave her out of this!"

"It's okay Nadar." At Asuna's voice, Nadar's whole body froze, staring at her as she smiled weakly back to him. "It isn't your fault, don't let them break you. I know you'd never hurt me."

Nadar's whole world turned to black as everything around him felt void. He was staring helplessly at her as he watched her health enter the red. The sound and sight of Asuna shattering constantly going through his head as the vice commander had already accepted her fate. It brought him back to the memory of Sarah shattering right in front of him, and how he had caused his best friend's death.

"No… no…" Nadar sobbed as he looked down, the appearance of giving up bringing smirks to the two assassins. "You're wrong Asuna, it is my fault. It's all my fault you and the others are in this mess."

"You can't control what happens Nadar. Please… don't blame yourself for-"

"That's why…" Before she could finish, everyone was caught off guard as he removed his hand from his coat to reveal an antidote crystal. "I'm going to fix this." Crushing the crystal in his hand, the cure effect activated immediately, allowing him full movement once more.

PoH attempted to get back as Nadar rose, but was too late as he grabbed his wrist. "You…" Nadar growled through his teeth, his eyes turning red as he began to twist the assassin's arm. "I'll deal with you later." Nadar's cold and controlled rage was brought out in full force now, as he completely bent PoH's arm the wrong direction and ripped it off.

Elbowing his gut, Nadar would knock him off his feet while at the same time going for his belt and grabbing a dagger, knowing that it would be laced with paralysis poison. Looking to Kuradeel, he didn't even hesitate as he threw the blade right at him, the system not even registering the preparation of a skill as it flew normally. By the time Kuradeel could react, the dagger had pierced right into his shoulder, causing him to lose his grip on his sword and fall back.

Nadar didn't skip a beat as he ran up to Asuna and pulled the sword out of her back, stopping her health just short of reaching zero. "How did you…?"

"After the Gleam Eyes, Agil made me have to carry an antidote crystal at all times." Nadar admitted as he removed the dagger from her back before pulling out a healing crystal. "I also don't like giving people my stuff, no one tells me how to manage my equipment but me. Heal." Returning her to full health, Nadar was able to sigh in relief for a single second. That relief went back to the cold fury he had as he stood up and looked over to Kuradeel, who was staring in terror at him.

No words were exchanged when Nadar walked over to him and grabbed him by his arm, pulling him up and slamming him into the nearest wall. He then followed it by kneeing his gut before throwing his hand forward and slamming his head hard against the rocks. "You know, back when I first met you I was in a good mood. Everyone was going to have Ragout Rabbit, a good get together. Then after that you went past my tolerance limit and broke into Asuna's house."

Nadar then released his head and reared his fist back, readying an unarmed skill before punching Kuradeel's chest, knocking him back to the wall with enough force to make him bounce. "To be honest, I should have just killed you there." Nadar's calm yet enraged voice was sending shivers down everyone's spines, further cemented as he kicked Kuradeel's throat and kept him in place. "I've killed for less, so it wouldn't have mattered much to me. But now… now I'm royally pissed."

"W-Wait… please I don't… gack!" Kuradeel tried to speak, but was silenced as Nadar pressed his boot further on his throat.

"Cheap tricks don't work on me. Begging won't get you anywhere." Nadar stated, kicking up and knocking Kuradeel up to his feet for a second. "And don't forget what I said." Throwing his fist forward, Nadar punched his fist right through Kuradeel's chest, dropping his health rapidly. "I'm ripping your chest open for touching her." Proving his point, Nadar pulled his fist out by his side, ripping a hole into the player's chest. It was nothing but the normal grid injuries, but it was clear that the damage was done and Kuradeel's health dropped to 0.

"See you in hell." Nadar said simply as he shattered, spitting into the dirt where he last stood. "Good riddance."

' _You win this round Nadar.'_ PoH thought as he used his good hand to grab a teleport crystal. _'But this isn't over yet.'_

Before he could use it however, it was suddenly kicked out of his hand. Looking up, he saw Godfrey standing over him with his axe at the ready, pointing the end at him. "You're not going anywhere."

"Oh he is going somewhere." Nadar growled as he turned to the two, his eyes glowing a vibrant red. "Straight to hell with the rest of his guild. Where he belongs."

"Stand down Nadar." Godfrey warned, placing his right foot on PoH to keep him from escaping while pointing his axe at the executioner. "PoH is wanted for questioning, we have to make sure he doesn't have any more agents within our ranks."

"I don't give a damn." Nadar responded, taking a step forward. "I want him dead, he deserves nothing less than an agonizing death. It won't be slow, you can ask your questions as I cut him apart limb by limb."

"I understand you have your own reasons for wanting him dead Nadar, but I cannot allow you to jeopardize other players because of some petty vendetta."

Like a glass shattering, Nadar's eyes widened significantly in rage at Godfrey's words. His pupils were shaking as he reached back for his axe, clenching the crystal tightly as he activated a Strength skill right away. "What did you just call my reasons? Petty?"

Taking a step forward, Nadar's whole body shook with anger as he glared at Godfrey, who stood ready for a fight. "What would you know of my reasons for wanting him dead? Have you experienced what I have? Do you suddenly know everything there is to know about me? Do I look that predictable to you?"

"N-Nadar, m-maybe you should calm down before-ah!" Nautilus tried to speak up, but was scared out of his skin when Nadar's axe landed between his legs, causing him to crawl back in fear.

"I don't want to hear it from the coward too scared to move." Nadar stated bitterly, staring at the player's still closed bag. "It's players like you that piss me off almost as much as murderers like him. You were willing to watch others suffer or die while you remained silent, forgotten to those around you. It makes me sick for more reasons than I care to say." He then looked back to Godfrey, his fury causing his fist to shake. "And people like you, who make assumptions on someone you don't even know, thinking you can guess anything on them. Arrogance like that digs under my skin, and it pisses me off more each time it happens."

The executioner then took a step forward, the dirt around his foot spreading away from the force. "I've had a bad day so far, but I'm willing to give you one chance to walk away from him. If you don't, then I will not hesitate to go through you. He's had a lot coming and I will not let you get in the way of the vengeance he's had coming for two years now."

"Nadar wait." Asuna spoke up from behind him, still on the ground paralyzed. "You don't have to do this, it doesn't have to be this way. Ever since the first day in here you've pushed everything you feel aside, all for the sake of getting revenge. That isn't a way to live, I know because I was lost in a single thought as well. I only ever wanted to do was get out of this game, and it had absorbed all of my thoughts and effort. But you showed me that I don't have to live like that, that I could break free from the shackles I put on myself."

"Please Nadar, don't be consumed by what you did. Don't let him get to you anymore." Asuna begged. "You don't have to be a killer anymore, you're not alone in this. Kirito, Sachi, Silica, Hachiman, Klein… me, we're all here for you. We can help you."

"…" Nadar remained quiet as he looked down, both his hands shaking as he tightened them into fists. "…Stay away from me."

"W-What?" Asuna asked, caught off guard by the response.

"I don't want you anywhere near me again." Nadar responded, keeping his back to her as he spoke. "You don't know a single thing about me, none of you do. I don't care about getting help for what I've become, because I became what I always wanted to be. Powerful. I'm no longer that hopeless kid that was picked on, the one that couldn't so much as speak out of turn without being scared of being corrected. In here, I'm the one people are afraid of, and I don't need people trying to change me back into that frail person I once was."

"So I want you to stay the hell away from me." He continued, Asuna staring in shock as he kept going. "You think that someone like you can say she wants to help me? Up until floor 50 you were one of the countless nobodies that only saw me as a murderer. What makes you think you can say something of trying to help me when you're just as guilty for the way I've turned out? I'm no different than I am from day one, I've just gotten better at holding it in. So do yourself a favor and never come close to me again. It's better off for the both of us."

" _My selfishness has put everyone in constant risk, and despite that I… I still can't help it."_

Remembering his words, Asuna's eyes widened in realization at what he was trying to do. And after steeling herself, she fought against the paralysis and pushed herself up as much as she could. "Look at me." She stated, getting no reaction from him. "You want to cut our ties like that? Fine, but you have to look me in the eyes and say that. If you do… then I'll accept it and Godfrey and I won't stop you from attacking PoH. So if it really means that much to you, then look at me and say it."

"Tch!" Nadar bit his lip as his fists continued to tremble, the shaking moving up his arms as his shoulders tensed.

"If you're really as bad as you claim to be, it shouldn't be that hard." Asuna continued to egg him on, pushing him to his limits.

"You know what Asuna? I hate you so much." Nadar slowly said as he started turning to her, the motions scaring her. But as he was halfway through the step, she saw him release his fists before his whole body relaxed. And when his head finally turned, she saw the once enraged eyes of Nadar turn to a mixture of relief and disappointment. "I hate how you managed to call my bluff."

A wave of relief washed over Asuna at his response, her lips curling up to a smile as he pointed back towards Godfrey. "You can take him, but he must never see the light of day for as long as we're in here. If I so much as hear the name PoH I will storm the prison and rip him to pieces. Are we clear?"

Seeing the executioner stand down brought comfort to Godfrey, the Tank sighing as he lowered his axe. "Yeah, we have that cleared up. You won't have to worry about him anymore."

"Good. Now get him and the coward out of my sight before I change my mind." He ordered, resulting in Godfrey lifting PoH up and walking over to Nautilus.

"You're a fool to trust him." PoH said, speaking up as he looked towards Asuna. "You'll learn soon enough that getting this close to him will result in nothing but pain. Misfortune is his norm, and when it comes you'll be the one that dies."

"No, she won't." Nadar responded calmly, his whole body remaining collected and determined as he stared at the assassin. "Because I'll always be there for her. I'm not the same kid I was at the start of SAO; I'll protect her for the rest of my life along with everyone else." He then narrowed his eyes, letting the remnants of his anger appear for one last sentence. "I've grown past what you represent in me, you no longer haunt me."

PoH would stare back at Nadar with a neutral expression, taking in each detail of Nadar's face and posture. As Godfrey pulled out teleport crystals, he would grin at the executioner. "You can't escape us until either you or the three of us are dead, and you know that." And before he could say anything else, Godfrey used the crystals and all of them vanished.

When they were finally gone, Nadar turned and walked over to Asuna, her paralysis wearing off as he held his hand out to her. "Thank you Asuna. For not giving up on me."

Asuna smiled again as she took his hand, getting pulled up by the executioner. "You didn't give up on me back then, so I couldn't just let you-whoa!" Before she finished, Nadar tugged Asuna and he wrapped her up in a hug. "N-Nadar?" Asuna blushed, feeling his chin rest on her shoulder.

"I… know this might be asking a lot, but could you stay with Silica and me back home?" Nadar asked. "If Kuradeel's been with them for long, then any of PoH's remaining men will know where you live. I know you can defend yourself, but… I just want to make sure you're safe." He'd say as he held her tighter, his embrace acting like a shield.

She stared in surprise at Nadar for what felt like forever to him, but eventually she returned the hug. "Alright, I'll stay by your side. You can protect me and I can protect you."

"Thank you." Nadar breathed out as he began to relax, looking down to the ground as the two remained in their embrace.

' _I promise you Asuna, I'll fight for you for as long as I can. You and everyone else will get out of this game and return back to the real world. Even if it costs me everything I'll give it up for you.'_

* * *

 **(A/N): I'm starting to feel like I'm spoiling all of you here. Just a few days ago I made roughly the longest chapter in this entire story, and just now I bring one of the exact same length! I'm gonna be real here, I think I need a bit of a break from this story to recover. I want to keep writing for this, but the closer we get to the first arc's climax I want to be fully ready for it. So I'm probably going to take a small hiatus of about two weeks to recover and write on some of my other stories.**

 **I won't leave this entirely empty though. I'll probably do the OVAs as a way to keep me warmed up on SAO during the break, although they'll likely only be around 2,000 words long. So I'd be sure to look out for that.**

 **Anyways, I had light lost sleep on this chapter so I'm gonna take a nap and prepare myself for the future of this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that I can keep the enjoyment going for as long as I can. Have a good day and pray that I manage to wake up later!**


	17. Tales of SAO: Argo

"Alright everyone! We've been stuck on this floor for two days now, but in that time we've managed to find the boss room!" Kibaou shouted as he stood in the center of a grass field. He and most of the players that would make up the raid party were all gathered at the beginning of floor 2, readying for when they'd begin the next raid. "And with some of the info we got from some Beta testers, we know that we're going to be dealing with two bosses this time instead of one!"

The news brought a whispers and murmurs across the raid team, everyone looking among the other in shock. At the very edge of the group were Kirito, Hachiman and Nadar, all wearing the same gear they had from fighting Illfang. While Kirito and Hachiman stood in attendance, Nadar was the furthest away, sitting next to a plot of dried grass, throwing small pebbles as Kibaou's words went over his head.

"This is a waste of time." Nadar said as Kibaou started to talk of the strategy, getting an eye roll from Hachiman. "We're letting someone like porcupine come up with a strategy, we might as well run at the bosses without weapons and beg for mercy. It'd go better if one of the testers came up with one directly instead of advising."

"Nadar, we've gone over this before." Kirito responded, looking over to the axe man. "Most players aren't on good terms with Beta testers, there'd be no coordination if one of us were in charge. With Kibaou, they have someone who worked directly with Diavel and has a serious drive to beat the game. We've almost beat this floor and it's only been two days even."

"Yeah, which means we're rushing and overlooking key details." Nadar returned, stopping his throwing to look over to the two. "It took us a month to figure out Illfang, and we all saw the shit show that was. So forgive me if I think we're royally boned."

"You're overanalyzing it." Hachiman waved. "Back in the Beta, Nato and Baran were the two easiest bosses there were. We cleared the battle in just a single try, even Illfang was a bigger threat than them put together. All we have to look out for is their lightning slams and we're good."

"Diavel died because things changed from the Beta." Nadar countered, standing up to stare at Hachiman. "Only an idiot thinks something like that was coincidental, Kayaba changed it on purpose to throw us for a loop. We're walking to our deaths relying on this being just like it was before."

"He's right ya' know." All three players jumped back and reached for their weapons when a fourth voice spoke up, grabbing all their attention. All three stared in shock as a small girl with a ragged shawl and hood. Although out of her appearance the most notable thing was her drawn on whiskers, something that became more noticeable when she grew a grin. "Seriously? The three of ya' make up the best we got and ya' jump from me? How'd we ever make it off floor 1?"

"The fuck you want short stack?" Nadar growled as he grabbed his axe, the only one of the party to unsheathe his weapon at the player's appearance.

"Hmmm. So you're the infamous Nadar I've heard so much about?" The player responded, cupping her chin with her index finger and thumb. After measuring him up for a second, she shrugged and dawned a more disappointed expression. "Kinda a let down. I was expectin' someone taller."

"Gah!" Nadar's jaw dropped at the nonchalant way the girl responded, not even seeming to register his drawn weapon. Kirito and Hachiman were both in their own state of shock, the confidence from the player actually scaring them to an extent. Just about everyone knew who Nadar was at this point, and that lead to every players staying as far from the party as possible. Only a few actually had the guts to talk to them, but none had openly commented or insulted Nadar.

Seeing the three players' expressions caused the player to chuckle, her teeth showing as she took in the sight. "Man, ya' all sure seemed surprised. Guess I'm that good, huh?" She then pointed to herself with her thumb, grinning as Kirito and Hachiman recovered. "The name's Argo, I'm an info broker and I'm lookin' for a hand in a job."

"Well Argo, I'm Kirito." Kirito responded, motioning over to Hachiman. "My friend here is Hachiman, and you already seem to know Nadar." Looking over to the axe man, Kirito sighed as he was still in utter shock, unable to turn his attention away from the tiny info broker. "And while I'd normally be willing to give a hand and help with a quest, we're getting ready to deal with the boss. So it's going to have to wait until after that."

"Ah, but that's exactly what I'm lookin' into." Argo stated. "See, I haven't found anythin' on the big boss battle yet, so I figured there's somethin' we're missin'. Luckily, I managed to find a quest that might have what I'm lookin' for."

"Interesting, but why bring it up?" Hachiman asked. "We're already set to move out in an hour. We can't just up and go with you on a quest that'll likely take over twice as long."

"I didn't bring it up for ya'." Argo said, pointing over to Nadar. "I brought it up for 'im."

That managed to snap Nadar out of his shock, shaking his head to regain focus. "For me?"

"Yep, I figured you'd wanna go searchin' for a little clue or two on what you're gonna deal with."

"Yeah, but can you give a good reason on why I should go with you?" He questioned, sheathing his axe and crossing his arms. "In all honesty, I was just pointing out the obvious on our soon to be doomed situation. A couple dead players won't shake me from fighting and winning."

"True, true, I heard ya' don't care for most of the players here." Argo nodded, knowing his stance on his fellow players well. "But imagine how annoyin' it'll be for Kibaou if some of his top players weren't ready and forced him to wait to-HEY!"

"You had me at annoying porcupine." Nadar interrupted as he grabbed her hood and began to drag her.

"Nadar, wait!" Kirito called out to him.

"Stall porcupine for at least another hour." Nadar responded as he kept a firm hold on Argo's hood, not even flinching at her attempt to free herself. "We'll be done with this quest in no time and be back before you can say Sword Art."

"Sword Art." Hachiman called out, getting an irritated twitch from Nadar.

"Prick."

* * *

"It'll be this way." Argo pointed as the pair walked through the meadow, ignoring the monsters as they moved. Most of the monsters on floor 2 were passive, only attacking when the players attacked them, so they didn't have to worry about fighting the whole way to the quest and back.

Unfortunately, that also meant the two had nothing to distract themselves from the other. Something that Nadar would much rather have than Argo would. The two had been walking for 20 minutes now, and in that time Nadar distracted himself by taking notes of his companion. Aside from her short stature and sharp tongue, he could tell Argo was extremely nimble, her steps not even making a sound in the dry grass.

' _She must be an Agility/Intelligence build.'_ He concluded in his head as he took a look at her, looking away when she'd turn to him.

"Ya' know, it always confused me how he thought of you the way he did." Argo brought up out of nowhere, confusing Nadar. "Diavel, I mean. He talked a surprising amount of ya'."

"He did?" Nadar asked, raising an eyebrow while looking down to her. "Sounds a little farfetched. I didn't know him for very long."

"Which is what surprised me." Argo responded. "I was working with him since day two in an attempt to get some form of balance. With everyone goin' crazy with the risk of dyin' he started to make allies with everyone he could. I decided to be his source of info and told others about 'im. Most didn't follow through, but one day Diavel brought up this one guy named Nadar. He sounded surprisingly confident in ya' being a potential leader in the raid party. And takin' a look at ya' now, I don't know what he saw."

"And on that we can agree on." Nadar chuckled, closing his eyes as he remembered the blue haired swordsman. His eyes then opened somberly and he looked to his side, staring out to the massive cows and bulls that were around them. "So why are you really doing this?" Now that he had Argo's attention, he would return his gaze to in front of them. "I saw you working with Kibaou on the first day we were here, so I know you tolerate him. So I'm wondering why you are going against his plan for this."

Argo looked down in response, her shoulders dropping as she did. "I was the one who found Illfang's lair. I found it, looked in and saw him before runnin'. I didn't even bother to see if he was any different from the Beta. I rushed my job and didn't see it all the way through."

"So you blame yourself for the plan going FUBAR when the nodachi came out." Nadar concluded, not having to ask for the answer.

"I won't let it go down like last time." She stated, looking forward in determination. "I'll get every last bit of info that I can find before the raid kicks in. Kibaou wouldn't spare any players cause he figured we had enough to take the bosses down." Nadar would stare at Argo for a few minutes, figuring out what to say to her before punching her shoulder. "Oi! What was that for!?"

"For half-assing floor 1." He responded, smirking as he looked down to her. "Takes guts to own up to it though, so you're good in my book. You aren't leader material, but I'll trust your judgment on this quest."

"That makes two of us, huh?" Argo half chuckled, both looking forward as they traversed the floor. "So, do it for 'im?"

"Do it for him." Nadar nodded.

After another 20 minutes of walking, the duo reached a small area of grasslands that appeared burned down, the grass completely gone and the dirt scorched. At the center was a single Taurus, standing with a massive axe that was sparking with electricity.

"So, I'm guessing that thing there has the info we're looking for?" Nadar asked, unsheathing his axe and spinning it in his hand.

"It says it's a lieutenant of the Taurus army's forces, with information on their leader." Argo explained, pulling up the quest details. "Most likely it'll drop some kinda mission report that reveals something bout the boss. I'd wager some kind of special attack or weakness it has."

"Well then, time to get to work." Nadar said as he started to walk ahead. "If you aren't much of a fighter, I'd recommend staying back for this. You'd just get in my way if you are."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Argo put her hands up, smirking as the Taurus turned to Nadar. "Watch out for its axe though. That'll stun you for a few seconds."

"That won't matter to me." Nadar glared as he slowly sped up, watching as the Taurus hiked its axe onto its shoulder. "Okay you big bastard, I don't like you and you don't like me. But only one of us are going to walk out of this one." Activating a Strength skill, Nadar started to run at the Taurus as it readied it's own skill, raising its axe up when he was within a few feet.

"I don't plan on dying any time soon!" Nadar shouted as he stopped right in front of it, swinging his axe up as it swung down. Their axes both collided it a flash of red, the light from their attacks shining across the whole field before a massive shockwave went off, sending dirt everywhere as they pushed against each other.

* * *

"He's seriously making us wait for him to come back?" Asuna questioned as she glared at Kirito, the swordsman taking a step back in response.

"I'm sorry, but he just ran off on his own with an info broker. He's not exactly someone who takes orders well you know." He said.

"Well if he takes any longer we're leaving without him!" Kibaou stated, surprising the two.

"No way, you're seriously thinking of taking the boss without the guy who is supposed to be the main defender against their axes?"

"He made the choice of running off on his own, it's his own fault if we go without him." Kibaou responded as he crossed his arms. "We've already held back for an hour longer than we were supposed to. We can't just stop because he thinks that we're going to wait forever."

"I called it." Before the three could continue, Nadar was quickly walking towards them, Argo just a few steps behind him as he moved towards them.

"Where have you been?" Asuna demanded, getting no response as he pushed her aside without a second thought. "Hey!"

"Outta the way extra, I don't have time to deal with a nobody." Nadar growled as he walked up to Kibaou, a scroll in his fist as he moved. "You're a fucking idiot for thinking the raid would be so easy."

"What makes you think-!?" Before Kibaou could finish his sentence, Nadar slammed his palm into his chest, putting the open scroll against his chest plate as he glared.

"There are three bosses you disgrace of a raid leader." Nadar barked as he pulled away from Kibaou, letting him hold the scroll and look through its contents. "Nato the Colonel Taurus, Baran the General Taurus, and Asterius the Taurus King. We are dealing with three bosses in a row, and the last one is going to be on a whole other level than the others."

"What the hell?" Kibaou muttered as he looked through the scroll, seeing the report on the third unknown boss readying itself for the coming war. He then glared over to Kirito. "The hell Beta tester!? You guys said there were only two bosses!"

"There were only two!" Kirito responded. "It looks like there's more changes than we were expecting here. There wasn't even a hint of a king back when the Beta came out."

"All that's important is that I was right, you were all wrong, and now we aren't 100% fucked." Nadar stated as he turned away, walking back towards Argo. "Thanks shorty, couldn't have gotten there without ya."

"Make sure not to die during the fight." Argo responded, grinning at the axe man. "There's a whole load of info waitin' to be discovered. And I need a business partner."

"Not interested." Nadar smirked. "But I think I could use a good info broker down the line. You bring me info ahead of everyone else, and I'll pay you a good fee for your troubles. Sound good."

"Ya' know it." The two then bumped their fists against one another, serving as a pack for the future. "Now go show that oversized bull whose boss."

"Deal."

* * *

 **(A/N): Well, here's the first "OVA" of the story. Not gonna lie, it isn't exactly the best I'm expecting it to be. Although that's mostly because it's only 2,500 words long, a length of a chapter I rarely ever consider doing and feel iffy on whenever I do one. Plus I was never a massive fan of floor 2's arc. I might go back to it for the boss fight, though that might not be for a bit of time. But I feel that the next OVA will be better, and after that I'll start going back into the direct story again.**

 **Hope you enjoyed, and let me know if there's any other sub plots you want to see from the Aincrad arc in the future. I'm interested in hearing your opinions and ideas, so don't be afraid to tell me anything.**


	18. Tales of SAO: The Fuurinkazan

"So, word 'round the Assault Team is Aincrad's Executioner's gotten pretty risky with his levelin'." Argo noted as she stood next to a bench in the center of Mugien, the starting town on floor 49. It was Christmas Eve, and it was agreed upon by the Assault Team that the next couple weeks would be used to recover and prepare themselves for the boss.

Nadar was sitting at the other end of the bench, his hands clenched together as he had on his mid-game equipment, the scarf and hood hiding most of his face while having a Black Cauldron Axe on his back. The axe was the best weapon he could find on short notice, having recently lost an axe two days prior.

"Just tell me if you got any new information." Nadar said coldly as he looked over to Argo.

"Nothin' new worth chargin' ya' for." Argo responded. "It's a first time event, so there isn't a whole lot to work off of. Although according to what I found the boss is called Nicholas the Renegade, and he'll appear under a fern tree somewhere. Not to mention the Knights of the Blood Oath and Holy Dragon Alliance are searching every single potential spawn it could be at."

"Fern tree, huh?" Nadar questioned as he stood up, the snow crunching underneath his weight.

"You know where it is, don't ya'?" Argo asked, casting a worried glance as he began to walk away. "You're not plannin' on takin' it all by ya' self, are ya'?"

"It's for the best that I do." Nadar said as he put his hands in his pockets. "Kirito and Sachi are both at home asleep, and Hachiman hasn't responded to any of my messages for over three months now. And that's everyone I know that can do something."

"I know you're a top notch player, but even you know goin' against a boss solo is suicide." Argo spoke up, causing him to stop a few meters away. "I could call in a favor if ya' want, get someone to back ya' up."

"Thanks, but that's been sort of the plan." Argo's eyes widened as he started to walk away again, not giving her a second glance as he moved. "I either die and repay the debt, or I win and repay it. Either way, it works for me." He then gave a single wave behind his back, as a potential final farewell to the info broker. "If this does end up killing me, tell Sachi I'm sorry. And Kirito… tell him I leave the rest to him."

Before long, Nadar disappeared into the crowd, Argo's Detection no longer able to pick him up among all the players. And once that happened, Argo went to her menu and opened her messenger, typing as fast as she could.

" _Oi, Remember that idiot we were talkin' 'bout? I think he could use some help 'bout now." ~Argo_

* * *

' _This is the place.'_ Nadar thought as he stood outside a forest on floor 35, the snow falling slowly around him as he moved in. At the center of the woods was a single fern tree that glowed brightly, a strange light that formed only at the darkest time of the night. The forest was ignored by every guild back when they came across it, the monsters giving no sort of benefit when they were killed. It was the perfect place to hide a special event boss.

After a few minutes of walking in the woods, Nadar stopped in his tracks, hearing the teleport effect go off to his right. Looking over, his gaze was left unaltered as he saw the Fuurinkazan guild appear, Klein standing at the front of them. "Yo, long time no see."

"You… you're that Red Samurai I've heard about, right?" Nadar asked. "Kirito's mentioned you a few times, Clive right?"

"Klein, actually." Klein responded awkwardly, off set by how Nadar didn't know his name. "We've fought together against a couple of the bosses."

"We did?"

"Yeah man, back on floor 40 against the Werebat?"

"That was such a stupid boss." Nadar commented. "So then, what's the point of you showing up? Can't imagine a reason you want anything to deal with the event boss. I pegged most of the Assault Team would be spending this night drinking their problems away."

"Well, I can't fault you for that." Klein admitted, rubbing some of the snow off his shoulder. "I'd be a lot happier with a beer in my hand rather than standing out here in the snow right now."

"Then why show up?"

"Is it that hard to tell? You've been leveling late at night nonstop for the past two months, every night right after Kirito and Sachi go to sleep. Its kind of worrying man."

"So what? You're here because you feel like I need help or something?" Nadar questioned as he stared the guild down. "Is that really the best you can come up with? I wasn't born yesterday Klaus."

"Klein."

"I don't care." Nadar rolled his eyes. "Listen closely, whatever I do is of no importance to you. Why I'm here now is for nothing more than the item that will be dropped from the event boss when I take it down."

"You're here because of that rumor?" Klein asked. "Nadar, you have to admit that it's a long shot at actually being a revival item. Sure, you're over 40 levels above this floor, but a boss is still a boss. You could get yourself killed going at the thing alone, it isn't worth it."

"Who are you to say it isn't worth it?" Nadar responded as he reached behind his back, grabbing his axe's hilt. "I would have figured that people would say it's a noble cause to try and bring someone back from the dead. But now suddenly it isn't even worth it?"

Seeing him grab his weapon, most of the Fuurinkazan were reaching for their own. However, Klein held his hand out to them before they did, letting them know that he would handle this. "It isn't worth it if you end up getting yourself killed in the end. Nothing is worth fighting for if you know at the end you'll die."

"You seem to think you know my skills perfectly." Nadar commented as he unsheathed his axe, glaring at Klein. "Want to try and prove just how much you know?"

"Come on man, I'm not saying you don't have a chance, but you have to admit that you're risking too much trying to fight it by yourself." Klein tried to reason, taking a step forward as he did. "Let us help you, if one of us get the revival item then we can give it to you. That way if it does drop it then you don't have to risk your life."

"Then what's the point of it?" Nadar questioned. "I didn't come here just to get the item for the entertainment of it. I know that the chances of soloing a boss is low in it's own right. I don't give a damn if it results in me dying. I'm doing this because if I want to make up for what I had done, then I have to put my life on the line. It's only fair that I do."

"You can't go risking your life so recklessly in this game!" Klein shouted. "When your HP hits 0, that's it, you're done! Your brain gets fried and there's nothing you can do about it. We've already lost enough players to this game, you shouldn't have to add yourself to that list for the sake of someone else."

"I looked into her eyes as she cried her heart out." Nadar stated, confusing the samurai. "My sister lost her entire guild, all of her actual friends, and I was responsible for it. If this item can bring back even one of them, then putting my life on the line is worth it. I will make it up to her, I'll make sure that every tear dropped doesn't go unanswered."

"I don't know you enough to understand your motives, but understand that I will not let anything stop me." Nadar continued as he stared the guild down. "I'm not a good person, I never have been in truth. But this is one of the few chances I have to fix some of the wrongs I've caused. Trying to deter me will cause nothing, so if I were you I'd just back off."

"Do you really think getting yourself killed will make things better?" Klein asked. "I've talked to Sachi, I know that it she sees you as a brother. You won't fix anything by throwing your life away like this. You'll only make it worse for her."

"Why do you even care?"

"Because I tried to help Kirito, but I wasn't able to get to him." Klein admitted, confusing Nadar. "The reason he knew me was because he showed me the ropes on day one, we were right beside each other when the reality of everything hit us. After Kayaba left, we split paths. He was just a kid, but he had enough guts to run off without looking back. I wanted to help him, but I couldn't just leave all my friends behind when they were as green as I was."

"But then I saw him on floor 4 with you and Hachiman, and I was shocked at how different he was." Klein continued, smirking as he looked at Nadar. "He was rather reclusive once our real faces were shown, but after just a few weeks with you two he was one of the most outspoken players on the front lines. Hachiman was a good voice of reason for him, but I think we both know why he grew as much as he did."

Nadar looked away in response, lowering his guard before Klein took a step forward. "I wasn't able to help Kirito, but you were. I don't know what you did to get him to form a party with you, but it was because of that he put complete trust in you and was willing to go against what he was comfortable with and grew. And Sachi too, you've helped people that I couldn't imagine the beginning on how to approach their issues."

The Red Samurai had been slowly walking towards Nadar as he walked, reaching halfway during his speech. "I don't know the first thing on how to help someone, and you're right when you say that I couldn't understand what you've been through. But that doesn't mean I don't or can't help you. You're just a kid; you shouldn't have to carry all of your guilt on your own."

When he was close enough, Klein would reach his hand out to the executioner, offering it as a sign of faith. "I wasn't able to help Kirito, but let me help you. If anything, at least let me help you with this quest. We don't have to learn everything about each other, or so much as become friends. I'll be that guy who you can rely on to have your back no questions asked. To let off steam about stuff you're not comfortable to around Kirito or Sachi. What do you say?"

Nadar would slowly look to the samurai's hand, his whole posture returning to guard as he tightened his hold on his axe. And even as it was showing signs of activating a skill, Klein didn't so much as budge. He had faith that Nadar wouldn't do anything, even with all the rumors about him from the Assault Team. It shocked the executioner just how calm the player in front of him was. Klein was the one right in front of him, with the highest danger presented in face of the possible outburst, but he wasn't even considering reaching for his weapon.

Eventually, Nadar let go of his axe with his right hand and reached out for Klein's hand, shaking it once. "Just this once. But after this, don't expect to get so much as another word from me. Got it Clarence?"

"Klein, and I'll take what you're willing to give me." Klein smiled as the two retracted their hands, staring at each other for a couple more seconds. "So then, want to lead the way, oh so infamous Executioner of Aincrad?"

"The fact you know my role makes me question your survival instincts." Nadar commented as he turned around, walking further into the forest. "Leaving yourself defenseless in the face of someone who's killed dozens of players, you must have a death wish."

"Coming from the guy who planned on soloing a boss." Klein chuckled as he began to follow, the rest of the Fuurinkazan joining the two after a second. "Which brings up another question, do you have a plan for dealing with this boss?"

"It depends on what kind of boss it turns out to be." Nadar stated. "If it's a Strength based one, I planned to use my combination of Strength and Dexterity skills to overwhelm it and take it down before it's powerful moves could show up. If it's an Agility based I'd rely on tanking the first few hits to figure out its timing. As for a Dexterity boss, damaging the weapon would be the key component. Once the weapon's gone, there's no need to worry about the unarmed skills."

"Wow, you really had this thought out then."

"I'm going to have to reconsider some of the plans now that there's 11 of us, but that isn't a problem." Nadar said as they moved, stopping as the giant fern tree was in sight. "You have two shield users, a spearman, an axe user, and the rest swordsman. Going off that, the guy with the tower shield will take two of the blows before switching with me. The buckler guy will be used for quick response blocks, if you have any haling crystals I'd give them to him."

In response to his words, Klein and another swordsman in the guild pulled out a healing crystal, tossing them to Dynamm, who caught them and put them into his quick pouch. "Anything else?" Klein asked.

Nadar would look up to the sky, seeing something quickly approaching as bells were heard. "The fat one with the greatsword and you will be fighting with me. Use your Strength skills to off balance it. Everyone else, you don't have to hit it with some massive combo, just enough to whittle its health for me to deliver the heavy hits."

Before anyone could further question the plan, a figure fell from the sky and crashed into the ground, sending a flurry of snow in every direction around the fern tree. Everyone aside from Nadar moved their arms to protect themselves, the snow impairing everyone's vision as it spread. When the flurry finally ceased, the Fuurinkazan stared in shock as the massive boss became visible. Standing at ten meters, Nicholas the Renegade was a twisted and vile form of what ole' Saint Nick was told to be. And in his left hand, a Steel Axe similar to Nadar's normal axe, giving the indication of it being a Strength based boss.

"Kevin, order your members into position!" Nadar ordered as he ran forward, gripping his axe with both hands as Nicholas' health appeared, raising its axe to ready the first attack.

"Harry, move up to intercept the attack!" Klein ordered to his guild's tower shield user, who nodded once and moved up along with Nadar. "Issin, Kunimittz, act as relief for Dynamm when he blocks one of the boss' attacks! Dale, with me! Everyone else, do as Nadar says and pick at its health slowly!"

"Right!" Everyone responded as they all moved into position, the four forward players charging right at Nicholas as he swung his axe.

' _Don't worry Sachi!'_ Nadar thought as Harry blocked the swing, readying a Strength skill as Klein and Dale ran past him and swung up, knocking Nicholas' arm up. _'I won't let those tears go unanswered!'_ He glared in determination as he jumped and swung up, slamming his axe into the boss' jaw with enough force to cause a shockwave, stopping the snow for a second.

As Nicholas' eyes began to glow red, Nadar's matched with a bright crimson, both their axes lighting up as the executioner's feet hit the snow. When Nicholas began to swing down, Dynamm quickly moved in and blocked the attack, showing a surprising amount of poise despite his low armor rating.

"Switch!" Nadar shouted as he took a step forward, swordsman taking the order and jumping to the side, avoiding Nadar's axe as he cut up across the boss' leg. Shortly after his attack landed, Dale followed it up with a horizontal slash across the other leg, Klein finishing it by jumping up and cutting down Nicholas' chest in a long swing.

Before the boss could even recover, Harry was already in front of everyone, ready to take the next attack along with Nadar. When the swing finally came, they easily blocked the attack, Dale and Klein swinging up to stun the boss again. As they did, Issin jumped from behind Nicholas and stabbed his spear into his back, followed by Kunimittz and two of the others slashing across it's body in perfect coordination.

' _I can see how these ten have made it for as long as they have.'_ Nadar thought as he jumped and delivered two cuts across Nicholas' back, jumping back for the pattern to continue. _'They don't even have to speak to know what the next one's going to do. I'm surprised they haven't recruited more players than they have.'_

Planting his feet into the ground, Nadar grinned as his eyes flashed red, his axe glowing to life as he rushed Nicholas. "You're going down you damn Krampus wanna be!"

As Harry blocked the next attack, Nadar moved past him and knocked his axe up, readying a second Strength skill as Dale and Klein caught up to him. "Aim for its heels!"

"Got it!" The two responded as Nadar slowed down for them, allowing them to run past the boss' legs and cut at heels, going right through the digital flesh. As the boss took a notable shift of weight, Nadar leaped up and spun his axe around his body, bringing it up and slamming it against Nicholas' chin in a devastating blow before knocking it over.

Still in the air, Nadar held his axe over his head as he began to fall, the Fuurinkazan all taking the boss' stunned state to send a swarm of Sword Skills at it. "Shatter Impact!" Activating the axe's special ability, Nadar's Agility gained a temporary boost and he flipped over his shoulders, the axe glowing pink as he brought it down to the boss' face. At the same time, all of the guild readied Strength skills and swung at the boss, resulting in a shockwave that caused the snow around all of them to be sent out in a flurry.

* * *

"That was… insane." Klein panted as he and the rest of the Fuurinkazan were scattered across the battlefield, resting after the long fight against the boss. "To think something like that was here on floor 35."

"I think we earned ourselves a drink or two when we get to the inn." Issin responded as he fell to his back, his spear impaled into the snow next to him.

"Well, it all depends on if we accomplished our goal." Klein smirked as he looked over to Nadar, the only player still standing. At the very end of the fight, Nadar had struck Nicholas with an insane amount of force, one that caused his Black Cauldron Axe to shatter on impact. Luckily though, the boss was down to enough health after their first combined Strength attack that it died after another ten minutes.

Nadar was holding a blue crystal carved in a sphere in his hand, the special item rewarded to him for getting the final blow. The item details were currently displayed to the executioner, whose whole arm was shaking as his hair shadowed his eyes.

"So Nadar, what does it say about-WHOA!" Before he could finish his sentence, Nadar threw the crystal at him out of nowhere, the samurai throwing his hand out to catch it at the last second. "Nadar?"

"Read it." He ordered, causing the Red Samurai to look down and tap on the item.

Seeing the details pop up, Klein's eyes widened as he saw the requirements for the item to work. "Only ten seconds?"

"That thing is only useful for a quick revive…" Nadar muttered as he turned away. "I don't know what I was expecting to be honest. If it were so simple to bring somebody back then it wouldn't be a real death game. Everyone's already long dead, this was one big waste."

"Well, what are you going to do with it?" Klein asked. "Even if you can't bring anyone from back then back, it's still a really useful item."

"Keep it, I don't have any use for it." Nadar said somberly as he started to walk away, the snow crunching underneath his feet with each step. "Kirito and Sachi won't be anywhere near death, so saving it for them is pointless. You have others you care about, use that when you see them die. Guess it serves as a good payment for wasting everyone's time."

"Wait!" Klein called out as he got up, moving forward and grabbing the back of Nadar's shirt. "Don't you dare go get yourself killed! You hear me!? I don't care what the reason is, it isn't worth throwing your life away like you're nothing! You can't let yourself get killed for no reason Nadar!"

"…" Nadar stood in silence for several moments, pulling himself free as he began to walk away again. "…Leave me be Klein. I won't die that easily. Just promise me that you'll put that item to good use. Make this… worth something."

Klein's eyes widened in shock at Nadar referring to him by name, traces of tears appearing as he smiled shakily. "Y-Yeah buddy… I'll make sure to use it at the best chance I can."

"We're not buddies." Nadar responded. "Buddies don't stick each other's necks out when their life is on the line. You and your guild are… partners."

Hearing that, all of the Fuurinkazan smirked at the executioner's retreating form, their leader's smile the brightest as he stared at Nadar's back. "Well, make sure you just take care of yourself bro. We Red Hair Bros gotta stick together."

"You are not calling us that." Nadar scoffed, hiding a small smirk as he waved over his shoulder. "Make sure to get out of the forest safely, I don't want to explain to Heathcliff why we're missing ten players of the Assault Team."

' _You aren't lost yet.'_ Klein smiled as Nadar's form disappeared into the blizzard, looking down to the revival item with contempt. _'You just need to be reminded why it's better to fight for a reason to live than a reason to die. And I'll do everything I can to help you.'_

" _Thank you."_ The sound of a new voice caught the Fuurinkazan's attention, all turning to see a glitching Serana standing by the brightest part of the fern tree. All of them were shocked at her glitching, fragmented body barely holding together as she smiled.

And before any of the players could say anything, her avatar gave into the coding and completely shattered, dispersing to the wind as the light from the fern tree slowly died out. The fragments remained clear in the sky, easily being followed by the players before they connected to the bottom of the next floor, vanishing away from sight.

"I… think we could all use a drink now." Klein said, unable to put together what they had all just seen.

"Aye." The entire guild agreed, all standing up to get out of the forest together. It was a long night for everyone, and with it now officially Christmas, they felt a quiet and relaxing celebration would be for the best.

* * *

 **(A/N): And scene! Both OVAs are done now and I plan to continue with the main story in my next update. I'll probably sprinkle in more of these shorts throughout the whole story, so don't be surprised if another comes out in the next month or two. Hope this was to everyone's liking and I hope you have a good week!**


	19. The Girl in the Woods

**(A/N): Okay, so I made a tiny change to the beginning of this chapter. I pretty much just changed Nadar and Asuna's moment and made it from the more physical hug to a more sensible interaction between them. I felt that it'd make more sense that the relationship would be slower and build more by the actions going on rather than a cheap "Oh it happened in-between chapters" gimmick that I've been able to avoid. Not really a big change, but it bugged me for the entire time I was trying to change and I just had to go back and fix it. Just wanted to clear that up, not really much else to say other than I hope I can make up for this chapter by making the next one better.**

* * *

"I hate this floor." Nadar sighed as he and Asuna walked out of a dungeon. The two had just finished clearing it and earning enough EXP to level up once, but had exhausted their healing supplies for the day.

"Yes, you've brought it up a few times." Asuna giggled as she looked over to the executioner, seeing his shoulders lower in exhaustion. Something that had surprised her was the fact Nadar was still wearing his KoB uniform, despite the fact that it wasn't necessary of him when they weren't directly under Heathcliff's orders.

"It's just so boring, everything's generic as hell." Nadar whined as he leaned his head back. "Skeletons with roman armor and trolls just seem so… basic after everything we've gone against. And call me spoiled, but after fighting the Gleam Eyes solo I can't get a rush fighting regular mobs anymore."

"You're spoiled." She laughed. "Most people after having the week we had back then would have taken a break. But of course you're the only one crazy enough to keep on fighting."

Nadar would chuckle as he shook his head, punching Asuna's shoulder in a playful manner. "Says the one who after nearly getting killed just for being close to me is still right here. I think I should be the one wondering if you're the crazy one in this party."

"Don't even think of going there." She responded, smiling as she rubbed her shoulder. "No matter what way you put it, you're the craziest player in the Assault Team."

"Yeah, I guess you're right there." He chuckled as he crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. "I don't need a break to feel relaxed though. You're here, safe, and that's all I need to recover from last week's drama."

"Thanks." She sighed in content, the two nearing the outskirts. "I'm surprised you aren't at least upset that Silica can't come with us. Or that we haven't heard from Kirito and Sachi for the whole week."

"Silica's out hunting with Lisbeth and Hachiman, she won't be alone." Nadar responded, recalling his request to the two players. "And I'm not worried about the two lovebirds. They're basically spending the time they have until the next boss by the lake. That's all they said they had planned."

"You know, it makes me wonder what they're doing right now." Asuna brought up, looking over to Nadar who shrugged.

"Knowing those two? Probably getting all mushy-mushy romantic while looking out to the lake. Reminding each other about how their love transcends this game and extends to the real world, all that cheesy romance stuff. That or going on a corny date walking by the lakeside."

* * *

"So why did you want to run off so quickly to the woods?" Sachi asked, riding Kirito's shoulders while they traversed the woods. The two were currently wearing their casual clothes, which consisted of a dark blue tunic and medium length skirt for Sachi, and Kirito's normal black shirt and pants.

"There's this rumor that I really wanted to check out." Kirito answered, looking around the trees as he walked. "Apparently, there's been word going around that if you go far enough into the forest you'll see… them."

"See who?"

That caused Kirito to smirk as he stopped. "Ghosts."

That instantly got a reaction out of Sachi, who looked down nervously to him. "Y-You're talking about the monsters right? Like the ones on floors 4 and 36 right?" Truth be told, those floors were easily the swordswoman's most hated floors. She never did well with horror, and supernatural like beasts had always sent shivers down her spin. The entire time on floor 36, she was basically glued to Nadar's back, the executioner having found a Holy Charm that could waver some of the monsters back.

"Oh no, we're talking about full blown ghosts. They say that the ghosts of both monsters and players that had been killed here, come back to haunt the forest they died in." The Black Swordsman would explain, recalling what he had heard in town. "It had happened pretty recently too, the latest incident with them."

"K-Kirito… th-that's not funny." Sachi said shakily, swearing she heard something break in the distance. "You know I don't like stories like that, it isn't funny to joke like that."

"Oh, but I'm not joking." Kirito warned, hearing her breathing hike for a second. "About a week ago, a carpenter hiked into the woods for a project. He stayed for so long that he didn't even realize that it turned dark when he was done. As he began to walk out, he noticed a glowing white figure standing by a tree."

The sound of the man's scream rang through Sachi's eyes, her body shaking at the thought of seeing something like that. Unfortunately for her, as her eyes trailed the trees, she herself saw a white figure slowly walk from behind one.

"Was it a monster, or something else?" Kirito continued on, figuring he's giving Sachi a good scare as he spoke. And all the while, Sachi continued to stare in fear at the figure walking by, losing sight of it for a second before it remerged from behind the next tree. "The white figure slowly walked from trees. Almost as if it was watching, waiting for someone to-"

"Ahh!" Eventually unable to handle staring at it, Sachi screamed and flip off of Kirito's shoulders, hiding behind the swordsman as she shook.

"Sachi? What's wrong?" Kirito asked, looking back to her with worry.

"It's… it's over there." Sachi responded, shakily pointing over to the figure she saw in the distance.

"What are you talking about?" Following her indication, the Black Swordsman would look out to the tree lines and see the same exact white figure by a tree, standing motionless as it looked aimlessly in front of it. "You've… you've got to be kidding." The longer the swordsman stared at the figure, the more details began to form around it, and just as he realized what it was it suddenly collapsed.

"Hold on…" Kirito said as he moved away from Sachi, running over towards where the figure collapsed. "That isn't a ghost!"

"Wait, Kirito!" Sachi shouted as he ran, hesitating for a second before following after him. When she had caught up, Kirito was kneeling on the ground, propping up a little girl that looked no older than seven, surprising Sachi. "Wait, there was a player out here all by herself?"

"Yeah, but something isn't right." Kirito commented as he looked at the girl, taking note of her long black hair and dark eyes.

"What do you mean?" Sachi asked, looking down to the girl before seeing the problem herself. "She's… missing a cursor."

"Yeah, it's weird. But it could just be a bug, a week into the game a couple of people had gotten it until the system fixed itself."

"Why is a little girl all the way out here by herself?" Sachi asked, looking sadly to the girl. "Well, whatever the case we should take her home with us until she wakes up. We don't want to risk anything bad happening to her while she's unconscious."

"Yeah." Kirito agreed, picking the girl up. "It's better to be safe than sorry."

* * *

Two hours passed as the two rested the girl in one of the two beds they had at the cabin, and the whole time they watched over her. They were looking for any signs of waking up, but aside from her breathing there wasn't even a hint of her even being alive. It was concerning, but the two knew that as long as her avatar was in the cabin there wouldn't be any possibility of her being killed.

"This is weird, I wonder what could have happened to her?" Kirito thought out loud as he looked over to Sachi. "We can say for certain she isn't an NPC, and if she was a quest giver we would've gotten a notification the moment we interacted with her."

"Which can only mean she's been lost on this floor for several days." Sachi added in, keeping a close eye on the girl. "Just wandering around, looking for anyone or anything she could come across. But then… where could her parents be?"

"No idea, but there's no way a kid her age would have come into SAO alone." Kirito responded. "Which means they might have been separated while hunting on one of the floors."

"I'm afraid something might have happened to them. And if that's the case, then she might be all alone here." Sachi commented as she thought over everything that could have happened. "They should be able to track her with their friends' list, but she looks like she might've been alone for days."

"Hey, it might not be that bad." Kirito said, putting a supportive arm around Sachi's shoulders. "Maybe she accidentally went to the wrong floor and her parent's been looking everywhere for her. We can't just say they died, no one's died on the lower floors ever since we cleared floor 30. So I'm sure they're somewhere out there."

"Thank you, Kirito." Sachi sighed as she relaxed in his grasp, leaning over to the swordsman. "I can't imagine how scary it must have been, being all alone without knowing where your family is. Wondering if they're safe, or if they're going to find you. She's only a kid, she shouldn't have to worry about these kind of things."

"None of us should." Kirito agreed as he looked down. "I messaged Nadar and Silica a little while ago. They said they'll come down tomorrow with Asuna, Lisbeth and Hachiman to help look for her parents. Or anyone that can recognize her down on floor 1."

"I feel bad getting them involved." Sachi responded. "Silica and the others had to change up their daily routine after what happened on floor 74. Then Nadar and Asuna had so much to work with when Nadar was pulled into the KoB."

"Yeah, but let's be honest with ourselves. We haven't been below floor 8 for a year now. Meanwhile all of them have gone down to floor 1 at some point in the past two months. They'll likely have a better chance at finding who her parents are."

"What do they know?"

"Not much yet. I just told them we needed their help. I figured with Nadar, it'd be better to explain everything in person rather than through a message."

"Fair enough." Sachi giggled as she rested her head on Kirito's shoulder. "How much do you want to bet Nadar's going to have an aneurism when he sees her?"

"We're completely broke. We don't have anything to bet." Kirito joked back, the two finding a peaceful silence as they finally began to relax. "We should probably get some rest. Who knows what kind of trouble could come up when we go head to the Town of Beginnings."

"It's floor 1, I'm sure we can handle anything this game can throw at us."

* * *

 _'It just… doesn't make any sense.'_ Sachi thought to herself as she laid in bed next to Kirito. It was still night, and for the whole time the girl was unable to get a wink of sleep. The thoughts of what the girl was doing all by herself plaguing her mind for the whole time.

 _'How could her family get separated from her? How could they even allow that?'_ Shed question to herself as she'd sit up, looking over to the wall between the beds. There, she'd stare soberly at the picture of her, Kirito, Silica and Nadar, the executioner giving an uncharacteristic smile as the two posed for the picture. The photo was taken a few months ago, and staring at it made her remember her entire time with her new family.

"They barely know me, but they've put so much on the line just to be by my side." She'd whisper as she got up and walked over to the spare bed, sitting down by the lost girl's feet. "How could anyone allow their family to be alone in this world, it just isn't right."

Looking at the girl, Sachi couldn't help but notice how weak and sad she appeared, a flash of her past self going through her mind as she moved a bit of her hair to the side. _'She seems so… scared and confused. Did she actually log in with her family or alone? And if they did come with her, could they still be alive if she's all alone now?'_

Shaking the thought from her head, Sachi would move under the covers and lay down next to the girl, attempting to comfort her as she wrapped her arms around her. "Sleep well. I promise everything will be better soon." And as she closed her eyes, the little girl began to smile, feeling the warmth from Sachi's embrace.

* * *

When the sun finally began to rise, Sachi's eyes twitched when the light hit her face, slowly but surely waking her up. And when she opened her eyes, she was staring at the young girl's black eyes. "Huh?" She then gasped as she realized that the girl was awake, sitting up as she was caught off guard. "Kirito! Wake up!"

The Black Swordsman groaned as Sachi's shouting woke him up, slowly going through the motions as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Morning. Is something wrong?"

"It's the girl, she's awake." Sachi informed, waving him over. "Come on." That was more than enough to get Kirito to shake his exhaustion off, getting up and walking over to their bed.

As he got close, Sachi helped the girl sit up, being extra careful in handling her. "You're finally awake, thank goodness." She sighed in relief. "Do you… remember what had happened to you?" In response to her question, the girl shook her head, appearing confused. "Okay, do you remember your name?"

"My name?" The girl responded slowly, trying hard to recall anything in her head. "My name is… I think… my name is… Yui." When she stated the name, the gears in her head appeared to turn as she looked over to Sachi and Kirito. "That's it, my name is Yui."

"That's an adorable name." Sachi smiled. "It's so nice to meet you. My name is Sachi, and this is Kirito."

"S-Schi, Kito?" Yui tried to say the players' names, although struggled to pronounce the full names.

"Yui, I know it will be hard, but are you able to remember why you were out in the forest?" Sachi would ask, her voice soft as she spoke. "And, if you know who your mom and dad are?"

Yui would look down and focus her thoughts as hard as she could, visibly causing herself some discomfort as she did. "I… I can't remember. I can't remember anything."

"Oh no."

Seeing Sachi distraught by the news, Kirito would try to lighten the mood of the room as he sat down on the bed, smiling as he looked to Yui. "Well, what's important right now is that you're awake. Can I call you Yui? Or would you prefer to be called something else?"

Yui would shake her head in response. "Yui's fine."

Kirito's smile would brighten as at her response. "Okay then, you can call me Kirito."

"Ki…to." Yui would struggle with his name again, getting an honest chuckle from the swordsman.

"It's Kirito. Ki-ri-to."

Yui would try to put more emphasis into the word, attempting to get it right this time. "Kito."

Kirito would chuckle again before patting her head. "That's okay, I guess it can be a little hard to get used to. Nadar was messing it up for a week."

' _I don't think that was on accident.'_ Sachi thought with an awkward smile.

"So how about you call me whatever is easier for you?"

That would cause Yui to remain silent for a few moments, thinking of what she would refer to the player as. Before long, she came to a decision and looked to the swordsman. "…Daddy."

That had surprised both Kirito and Sachi, the swordsman pointing to himself in confusion. "Wait… me?"

Nodding once, Yui then looked over to Sachi. "Schi is… Mommy."

Sachi stared in surprise at the little girl, who was in a mix of concern and embarrassment. But not long after, Sachi would smile gently to Yui. "Okay Yui, I'm… Mommy."

Yui's eyes would widen for a second before she smiled, moving forward to hug Sachi. "Mommy! Daddy!"

Sachi would laugh as she returned the hug, standing up and lifting Yui up with her. "You must be so hungry, how about I make all of us some lunch?"

"Okay!"

As the two hugged, Kirito couldn't help but smile. It was a touching moment, one that even someone like Nadar couldn't help but…

 _'Oh crap.'_ Kirito thought as he remembered the executioner. The very same one that was going to be at the lake house probably in a few hours. _'How are we going to explain this to him in a way that doesn't set him off?'_

* * *

Two hours passed before a knocking at the door was heard, getting both Kirito and Sachi's attention. After their meal, Yui had fallen asleep to take a nap, resting on the couch next to Kirito.

Getting up, Kirito would slowly walk up to the door, taking a calming breath before opening the door. "Hey guys, thanks for coming."

"It's no problem, most of us didn't have anything planned." Hachiman responded, him and Lisbeth being the first to enter. While the blacksmith wore her usual apron without her armor, Hachiman was wearing a pair of brown pants and a light green button up shirt. The lancer, figuring how much commotion would be brought up if four armored players started walking around on the floor, came up with the idea for them to come with more casual wear.

Silica entered next, wearing a rare robe drop that served as a special dress. Her eyes brightened significantly as she saw the living room. "Wow. It looks so pretty on the inside!" She then looked over to Sachi, a smile growing on her face as she ran over to her sister and hugged her. "Sachi!"

"Hi Silica, I missed you too!" Sachi laughed as she returned the embrace.

"Couldn't wait a week before starting trouble again, huh?" Nadar chuckled as he walked in, his hands in his pockets and Pina perched on his shoulder as he smirked at Kirito. The executioner was wearing dark blue pair of jeans and a yellow shirt, his scarf still wrapped around his neck in the same fashion as usual. "And just when I was starting to get used to you two being out of my hair too."

"He talked about you two every day." Asuna corrected as she followed the executioner in, smiling as she saw his shoulders tense at the reveal. She had on a bright yellow summer sweater and a brown skirt. "You couldn't imagine how fast he pulled up his menu the moment we got your message."

"Ah shut it Lightning Flasher." Nadar grunted, crossing his arms.

Just after his comment, Asuna walked up to Nadar and pressed her finger into his cheek, pushing his face a bit as she gave him a glare. "What did I say about you using that nickname?"

"You're not the boss of me." Nadar responded, resulting in the rapier user to push her finger against his cheek more and pushing his head further to the side.

"Actually I am. Vice commander, remember?"

Nadar would grunt again, rolling his eyes before sighing in defeat. "Fine, you say I'm not allowed to because of how I had used the implication in the past."

Asuna would smile as she stopped pocking her finger into his cheek, patting his head before walking past him. "Good boy."

"Uhhhh, are they…?" Kirito would ask as he looked over to Hachiman, motioning his finger between Nadar and Asuna.

"Believe it or not, I have no idea." Hachiman whispered back. "They act like it at times, but it's never been that easy to peg down as them dating. Best bet is they're taking it slow and working their way into the relationship."

"So then Kirito…" Nadar would interrupt as he looked to the Black Swordsman. "What's the reason you brought us all down to your humble abode? I don't mean to sound ungrateful, in fact you got me and Asuna an authorized absence from the guild to help you out, but I get the feeling you messaged us because it was important."

"Well, you're right about it being important."

"It wouldn't have to do with the little girl sleeping on your couch, would it?" Lisbeth asked, getting everyone to turn to see the girl sleeping on the mentioned couch.

"Y-Yeah, that'd be it." Kirito stuttered, scratching the back of his head. "See, Sachi and I were taking a walk through the woods when we found her all by herself. She didn't wake up and we're pretty sure she's encountering some glitch because she doesn't have a cursor."

"Okay, that makes sense." Hachiman commented. "And I'm guessing you called us because you needed help trying to find her parents?"

"That's the plan."

"Did you manage to get her name?" Nadar asked.

"It's Yui." Sachi answered. "The sad thing is… it was the only thing she was able to remember. Nothing else seems to be coming up for her since she woke up."

"Poor thing." Lisbeth said, looking at Yui with empathy. "Forgetting your whole life, everything about you, it must be hard."

"Be nice in my opinion."

"That's why we didn't ask for it." Asuna responded, poking Nadar's cheek again. "And try to act more considerate, this is a child's life we're talking about here." Nadar would grunt again in response, keeping quiet as she'd pull her finger away from his face.

"How long has she been asleep now?" Silica asked, looking over to Kirito.

"She woke up from her exhaustion just two hours ago, so she'll probably wake up from her nap in a couple minutes." The Black Swordsman responded.

At the moment he did, Yui's eyelids visibly twitched as she started to move, slowly waking up. "Or she'll wake up almost immediately because the plot demands it." Nadar commented, moving several steps away from Asuna to avoid getting jabbed in his cheek again.

"Yui?" Sachi spoke as she moved to sit down next to the girl. "How are you feeling?"

"Mmmmm… better." Yui yawned as she rubbed her eyes, getting a round of "Awws" from most of the group. When her vision was cleared, Yui saw everyone and looked around to see them, appearing confused as she did. "Who are these people mommy?"

"Excuse me, what the fu-what did she call her?" Nadar nearly swore before stopping himself, looking over to Kirito.

"Um, long story short she lost her memory and she thinks of us as her parents." Kirito responded, taking a cautious step back from Nadar.

"That is by far the second most irresponsible thing you two have done, but we'll talk about that another time." Nadar sighed as he looked back to Yui, almost flinching when the girl was specifically looking at him.

"Hi Yui, I'm Silica!" Silica introduced herself, Pina landing on her head as she smiled sweetly. "This is Pina, she's my familiar and a close friend."

"U-Um, nice to meet you Silica." Yui responded, sounding nervous as she did.

"Aw, you're absolutely adorable." Lisbeth said as she smiled, patting her own shoulder as she introduced herself. "My name's Lisbeth, but you can just call me Liz if that's easier for you."

"It's nice to… meet you too Liz."

Hachiman couldn't help but hum with a smile as he saw the girl interact with the others. "Sorry if this is a lot for you to handle, I guess we should probably go a little slower for you to be accustomed to us."

"N-No, it's okay." Yui said, shaking her head as she looked to Hachiman.

"Are you sure?" getting a nod in response, the lancer would shrug before continuing. "Well then Yui, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hachiman, and it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hach…ma." Yui tried to say his name, messing it up due to how complicated it was.

A gloom cloud formed over Hachiman in response, getting a raised eyebrow from Nadar. "Dude, you have one of the longest names in the Assault team. What did you think was going to happen when she would try to say her name?"

"I don't know." Hachiman groaned in response.

"I guess that leaves us." Asuna smiled as she spoke. "My name's Asuna, I'm happy to meet you."

"Nadar." The executioner simple stated, glad he was far away enough to avoid Asuna poking at him again. He wasn't safe from her glare however, as he visibly flinched at her narrowed eyes pointed at him.

"You know Yui, Nadar's practically a brother to me and Kirito." Sachi informed the girl, putting her arm around Yui in a comforting embrace. "And while I know he looks scary, if there was anyone in this room I'd feel I could trust above all else, it's him."

"Brother…" Yui echoed as she looked at Nadar, staring at him with a surprisingly measured gaze that put him off guard. "Mommy and daddy's brother…" She then pointed at Nadar, smiling as her eyes brightened. "Then that makes you… Uncle!"

"O-ho-kay there pint size, let's get this straightened out before-gah!" Before Nadar could finish, Asuna closed the gap between them and began to pull on his cheek, stopping him from continuing. "Ow, ow, ow, cut it!"

"Not until you promise to behave for the rest of the day." Asuna responded, pinching down on his cheek harder.

"This is crazy and you know it!" Nadar responded, wincing as she pulled on his cheek more.

"It is not crazy and you should do better than to say such things when there's a child around us." Asuna argued back, giving him a stern look as she kept a hold on his cheek. "You've been doing better with interacting with others, why are you being so defensive again?"

"Better? Was that before or after I told Corvatz he was boned like the idiot he was or-OW!"

"Watch your mouth."

"You're not my boss!"

"And you're Auntie." Everyone paused as Yui pointed to Asuna, all staring at a mixture of shock and confusion at the claim. "Mommy and daddy said they always look out for each other, and Asna is doing that for Nadr." Yui explained, smiling despite getting the two's names wrong. "So they're just like mommy and daddy, making them auntie and uncle."

"W-W-What?" Asuna blushed, releasing Nadar's cheek.

"That is some mindboggling processing that makes me wonder where you came to that conclusion." Nadar responded, rubbing his cheek as the pain subsided. "And I hate to break this to you, but me and Asuna aren't as close to each other as Kirito and Sachi are." Seeing the collective stare of the others though, Nadar sighed before crossing his arms. "But how about this, since names clearly aren't your specialty you can call us whatever you want until you get it down, okay?"

"Okay, Uncle!"

' _I did not wake up prepared for this.'_

* * *

"The Town of Beginnings." Kirito said slowly, the memories of the past coming up to him as they all spawned out of the teleport platform. "I didn't think I'd come back here again so soon."

"Funny how last time I dragged us here last time and now it's your guys' fault." Nadar smirked, recalling back to almost a year ago. "What interesting things always bring us back to the beginning."

"Yeah… interesting things." Asuna responded looking up to the sky with a somber expression. Seeing her gaze, Nadar placed a supportive hand on her shoulder, surprising her for a second before she smiled back to him.

"Do you recognize any of the buildings here Yui?" Sachi asked the girl, looking over to her being carried on Kirito's back.

"No, I don't remember any of these places." Yui answered, shaking her head as she looked down.

"Well, we got the whole town to cover." Lisbeth said, trying to keep the girl's hopes up. "I'm sure there will be something here you'll recognize once we get a move on."

"Let's start with the shops, she isn't wearing a default attire so maybe she went somewhere and her parents bought her the dress." Hachiman recommended.

The group agreed it to be the best decision, and they'd go to the shop district. They walked the entire route yet to no success with Yui recalling anything. They'd then move to the outskirts, hoping to spark a memory of her either hunting or greeting someone who was coming back from one. This also resulted in little, the girl not being able to remember a thing at the outskirts. After an hour of traveling, the group had almost gone across the entire town, not a single spot working to help Yui with her memories.

As they began to walk down one of the street ways, Nadar moved up to Sachi, tapping her side with his elbow to get her attention. "Hey Sachi, could you mind telling your… ahem… "child" to stop staring at me so much?" Nadar would ask, motioning over to the quoted girl that was looking at him. Whenever they weren't at a spot they thought could trigger her memories, Yui was staring intently at Nadar, as if trying to piece together something about him rather than herself.

"Oh relax, she's just curious." Sachi responded, waving his concerns off. "You know you're a strange one, of course she'd be looking at you so much. You're her uncle after all."

"It's still weird that you basically adopted her." Nadar commented. "I mean, we aren't even aware of where her parents are. It was a massive leap you two took in letting her call you her parents."

"What's the harm? I'm sure she'll remember her parents soon."

"What's the harm? I'll tell you the harm. You could seriously mess with her internal development." Nadar stated, surprising Nadar at how strict he sounded despite being quiet enough to keep Yui from hearing. "She's suffered amnesia, which can be severely damaging to an adult. What do you think that could do to a kid? Especially if they suddenly recall everything after a traumatic event? You're risking this little girl's mental health in going along with this, and I feel hearing why you're doing this will be disappointing."

"Why do you even care this much?" Sachi shot back, everyone who could hear surprised at the response. "You've never been one to care about others' mentality, why is it now a so important to you?"

"Are you serious right now? Are you seriously going to compare how I treat teenagers and grown adults to a-"

"Leave those children alone!" Before he could finish, Nadar was interrupted by the sound of a woman shouting. The words alone shocked everyone into pausing, although Nadar visibly flinched before running off in the direction of the voice. The others followed quickly after, the sound of several more voices coming up as they ran to the alley.

"Well, well, if it isn't the "oh so honest" daycare bitch."

"We've been waiting for you."

' _Bastards!'_ Nadar screamed in his head as he heard the next two voices. It didn't take a genius to know the sound of people preparing a shakedown, and it pissed him off at hearing that happening on floor 1 of all places. Despite his anger, the others quickly passed him and were already around the corner, reaching the scene of several ALF soldiers harassing a woman and three kids.

While Kirito, Sachi and Asuna all jumped over the soldiers to get between them and the kids, Hachiman, Lisbeth and Silica stayed by the woman. After she landed, Asuna looked to the kids to see that they were standing behind a pile of equipment, the gear they had gotten from what she could only assume was a long time ago. "It's okay now, you can pick up your stuff."

"Uh… okay." The boy at the front, Kane, nodded as he and the two others reached for their equipment.

"It's going to be fine now, we'll take care of this." Hachiman said back to the woman, a brunette by the name of Sasha.

"Thank you." Sasha breathed in relief, glad someone had come to help.

"Now hold on there for a second!" One of the soldiers shouted as he glared underneath his helmet at Kirito. "This is official army business, you ingrates should move your asses and leave!"

"Hold up, I got this." The leader of the soldiers said as he walked to the front of his men. "I can tell by the way you all showed up that you're new around here, otherwise you would know of a lot better than to interrupt our business!" To emphasize his point, the soldier unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Kirito, the player not even flinching as he stood his ground.

' _What's with the tier of that sword?'_ Silica thought. _'That's a weapon you get at around floor 44, there's no way he could have gotten it down here.'_

"Listen, we don't know what you're doing with these kids, but you're not going to continue." Sachi warned as she glared back at the soldiers, her and Asuna taking a defensive position between the kids and them. "If you know what's good for you, you'll leave now."

"Oh yeah?" The lead soldier grinned as he looked over to her. "And tell me why that's a good idea, bitch?"

"Welp, he's dead." Hachiman commented, getting the soldiers to turn to him.

"And who the hell says-gah!" The moment he turned around, Nadar had reached the group and punched him directly in the face.

The executioner's eyes were narrowed in rage as he continued through the punch and aimed down, knocking him to the ground while keeping his fist connected. "What the hell did you call my sister!?" When the soldier hit the ground, the force caused him to bounce back into the air, leaving him open to Nadar kicking out and knocking him into the wall.

As the soldier began to pick himself up and turn to Nadar, he paused in fear as Nadar pulled out his axe, holding it with one hand while keeping the blade in his face. "You have a lot of nerve calling my sister something so rude. We might be in a bit of a difficult spot right now, but I won't tolerate anyone calling her that."

"W-W-W-Wait!" The soldier began to scramble in an attempt to get away as Nadar prepared a skill with both hands. His attempt was fruitless, however, as the axe struck him in the back, sending him skidding across the ground and out of the alley.

The soldiers all stared at their leader in shock until turning back to Nadar, his eyes glowing red as he grinned. "Aw, what's the matter with all of you? We're in a safe zone, you don't have a chance of dying. So how about you back up your threats and come at me." He then slammed the end of the axe down into the ground, covering half his face with the blade while he grinned. "I promise it'll only be as painful as it looks. Although I can't guarantee you'll leave with both your arms and legs."

"T-That axe… it's the executioner!" One of the soldiers shouted as they recognized Nadar's weapon, the information getting the soldiers to run in fear. The leader wasn't far behind them, getting up after the attack and booking it away from the area.

"Hmph!" Nadar grunted as he swiped his axe across before sheathing it on his back, glaring over to where the soldiers ran.

"Whoa…" The executioner's shoulders tensed when he heard one of the kids behind him mutter, turning to see the kids run up to him and stare in astonishment. "That was awesome!"

"I didn't know an axe could knock someone flying like that!"

"How did you do that? The way your axe was glowing red at more than just the blade was so cool!"

"Um… um… um…" Nadar responded as the kids crowded him, trying to calm them while simultaneously avoiding touching them.

"See that Yui?" Kirito asked, smiling as Nadar struggled. "Your uncle's pretty strong."

"His… his heart…" Yui muttered as she reached out to Nadar, confusing and getting Kirito's attention. "His heart is… all of them are…"

"Yui?" By now Yui was beginning to tremble, getting the swordsman to look back in concern while getting everyone else's' attention.

"What's wrong Yui?" Sachi asked in concern, stepping towards the pair.

"Hey, is she okay?" Lisbeth asked as she and Silica approached.

"Did she manage to remember something?" Silica added in, looking up to the trembling girl.

"I… I…" Yui trembled as she placed her face on Kirito's back. "I was never here. In this place… I couldn't help them. I was always alone, in the dark." Here eyes then widened in pain, the air contorting as the programming turned static and caused a sudden pain in the players around.

The sudden shift caused everyone to place their hands over their ears, the girl slowly falling off of Kirito's back. In the second she began to fall, Sachi's instincts kicked in and she reached for Yui, catching her just before she hit the ground.

The static around them only lasted for a second after, and as the others began to recover, Yui would hold onto Sachi tightly in fear. "Mommy, I'm scared."

"It's okay Yui, I'm here." Sachi whispered as she ran her hand through Yui's hair. "It's okay, you're not alone. We're all here for you, we're here."

Seeing the scene, Nadar moved away from the kids back to Hachiman, the two both staring at the others attempt to calm Yui down. "You felt that, right?"

"Yeah." The lancer nodded. "And it's too coincidental to pass up."

"We'll have to approach this another time though." Nadar stated, walking towards the rest of the group. "Right now, there's a little girl that needs our help." After muttering that, he knelt down next to Sachi, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder as she and Yui looked to him. "Hey Yui, how are you feeling?"

"Uncle…" She cried up as she looked up to him. "I'm… I…" As she continued to cry, her hand slowly reached up to him, to which he calmly clasped her hand in his.

"It's okay Yui… we're all here. You don't have to be scared now."

"I'm… sorry…" As she said her last words, the girl passed out, concerning everyone as they looked to her.

 _'Sorry?'_

* * *

 **(A/N): Well, I'm going to be honest when I say this might be my weakest chapter yet. This was originally going to be both of Yui's chapters, but I couldn't fit it in while also getting it out within the next week or two. I've had a pretty rough writer's block for this story, not because I'm not interested but because I've been working on my Hundred/Dark Souls story here and something that honestly I never thought I'd do, start writing my own original story.**

 **I'll do what I can to avoid ignoring this story for long like I had earlier, because I'm getting excited for the finale of the Aincrad Arc to which I've practically thought through completely. I'd honestly write it now if I wouldn't screw up and post it by mistake. But until then, I'll be writing the rest of Yui's story and try to avoid getting too distracted in my other work. I hope this chapter was at least** **bearable to read, and I sincerely hope the next chapter will be better and not come out as late.**


	20. Yui

**(A/N): So, I probably have a lot to catch up on after my extended hiatus. I wasn't planning on being gone for so long, but finals was eating up all my time and when I got home for the holidays I didn't have much of a drive for writing. Getting into games like Dark Souls and Dragon Age helped though, and I've gotten back into writing a bit. This chapter had actually been a quarter done two weeks ago, but I couldn't bring myself to work on it, and I personally feel sorry for that. But now that I'm entering the final stretch for the Aincrad arc, I feel I can really put my effort into it. I wanted to just get this out of the way now, but I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who waited patiently for this. As well as everyone who's commented as well, the feedback is appreciated and some of them were even inspiration to get back into writing. I'm gratefull to all of you and hope you enjoy this chapter. Peace!**

* * *

A day had passed since Yui's "incident" and after which the group had all come back to check up on the church Sasha was staying at. The woman was there to greet them, everyone except for Nadar sitting at the tables up at the back so they could talk.

"This… is a lot of kids." Nadar commented as he leaned against the wall, astonished at the amount of kids all eating at the center of the church. He wasn't able to see every single one, but if he were to put a number on them he'd have to guess there was around three dozen or more.

"Yeah no kidding, I can't believe how many there are." Kirito agreed, looking at the kids before turning to Sasha.

"It's like this everyday almost." Sasha smiled as she watched the kids, glad to see them all still energetic. "Back when the game first started, I ran into a few kids who were all alone without their parents. They were scared and I couldn't just leave them by themselves."

That got Silica to look over to Nadar with a tired glare, getting the executioner to jump in his boots as he looked away nervously.

"So you bought this church so you could look after all of them?" Sachi asked, reading the tension between the two and attempting to redirect the conversation.

"Yes, they needed someone to look after them." She admitted, looking down for a second. "They're just kids, they don't deserve to be put in a situation like this. But luckily, they all seem to still be happy." She then looked over to Nadar and smiled, the executioner looking back with a raised eyebrow. "I know it might not mean a lot to you, but you were possibly the best thing to happen to these kids after they got stuck here. The way you took care of the soldiers helped them feel safe again."

"You're overestimating my influence and underestimating yours." Nadar responded. "I was a spectacle, but you were the one who did something to help them for over two years now. Besides, we're not here to talk about that."

"Oh, that's right." Sasha commented before looking over to Yui, the girl munching on a roll of bread. "Is she feeling any better after what happened?"

"Yeah, she got a full night's sleep and is back up and at 'em." Kirito smiled as he patted Yui's head, getting a giggle from her.

"Had that happened before?"

"We don't have a clue." Sachi admitted. "Truth is, we found her all by herself two days ago in the woods. She completely lost her memory and… she doesn't even remember her parents." While the pause seemed to come natural, Nadar took notice to the slight strain in her voice, his eyes looking over to her as he listened to the conversation.

"We were hoping that you might have an idea of who she was?" Hachiman explained. "We've brought her all around the Town of Beginnings and nothing's sparked her memories."

"Well…" Sasha would take a good look at Yui, trying to find a single trace of any similarities to before. But no matter how much she thought, she couldn't put a face on her, shaking her head in disappointment. "I'm sorry, I haven't seen her anywhere since this game started."

"Back to square one then." Lisbeth sighed.

Pina, who was resting on Silica's head, suddenly looked up and towards the door, the action getting her to turn as well. As if sensing someone approaching, they turned just in time for there to be a knocking at the door, everyone else looking over soon after.

Nadar was the first to the door, opening it to reveal a woman with long grey hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a light ALF officer uniform, the sight alone putting Nadar on guard as he glared at her. "I'm sorry to bother you. I am Yulier of the Aincrad Liberation Force."

"You act like none of us have seen that uniform in the past couple weeks." Nadar responded, his glare remaining as he looked at the woman. "You sure have a lot of nerve showing up after the mess your men had gotten into."

"Yes, about that." Yulier would note before bowing, surprising Nadar as she did. "First, I would wish to apologize for the actions they had taken against this orphanage. And I would also like to thank you for correcting the incident and putting them in their place."

"Oh… well um… you're welcome?" Nadar said uneasily, having not expecting that from her.

"Everything okay here Nadar?" Hachiman asked, him and Sachi walking up to the door and seeing Yulier.

"Mostly, just a surprise visit from one of the Army's commanders." He shrugged in response. "She surprisingly apologized and thanked us for stopping what her troops did yesterday. So no big deal going on."

"Actually, there is something else I wished to discuss with you." Yulier brought up, getting the three's attention again. "I realize I have no right to ask, but there is a serious matter that I cannot solve on my own. Please, I only ask that you listen to what I have to say before coming to a conclusion."

The three looked at each other for a few seconds before Sachi and Hachiman nodded, leading Nadar to sigh and open the door. "We'll listen to what you have to say."

"Thank you."

* * *

A couple minutes later, the entire group were all situated in one of the back rooms of the church. While most of them were sitting at a much larger table, Sachi and Silica were both sitting at a smaller table with Yui, who was drinking a glass of warm milk.

Yulier had only a few minutes to explain everything, so she decided to speak of the most important matters that were going on currently. "As I'm sure you all know, our guild was significantly smaller when the game had first started. Thinker, our leader, never wanted it to grow so large and become as dictatorial as it has become. And even when the ALS joined with us and we formed the ALF, things began to take a turn."

"The guild got too big to spread resources out appropriately, right?" Kirito asked, getting a nod from Yulier.

"Yes, the chaos that followed led to a extended period of infighting among the higher ranks. This infighting allowed one of our commanders, a man named Kibaou, to rise higher in power."

"Of course it was porcupine." Nadar muttered, shaking his head at the information.

"I assume you have a history with him?" Yulier questioned Nadar, who nodded once, groaning as he leaned back into his chair.

"You can say that. We fought against bosses together since Illfang, although you'd probably only know me from his constant anger at my disagreements with him."

"Kibaou and Kirito were the two main leaders of the Assault Team when it was just the top players banding together." Asuna explained further. "And while Kirito was the voice of reason, Kibaou sounded more like the spirit and energy to push them forward. He caused a lot of infighting though with his strategies."

"Then I assume you can tell what he started to do when his team rose high enough in power?" Yulier said, giving the group the idea of what was going on. "But unfortunately with them also hording the monster spawn points, he began to extort other players on the grounds of "taxation." At this point it's clear he doesn't even care about clearing the game, and he was getting plenty of flack for that."

"And so he sent a team of players to take on a boss to fix his image?" Lisbeth guessed, hitting the nail on the whole situation.

"It was thanks to your efforts that it didn't end up a massacre, but the event had damaged Kibaou's reputation beyond repair. The rest of the commanders were considering kicking him out of the guild for his actions. And now that he's cornered and desperate, he decided it was time to eliminate Thinker." That had gotten the entire room's attention, even Nadar dropped his shoulders and sit up more. "He set a trap, and has trapped Thinker in a dungeon."

"Does he have any teleport crystals to get out?" Sachi asked, getting a negative from the woman.

"What about weapons? Does he have any way of defending himself against a monster?" Kirito questioned.

"He didn't bring anything. Kibaou said he wanted to talk alone, unarmed. And Thinker gave him the benefit of the doubt and followed along with it." Yulier admitted, looking down in sorrow. "That was three days ago."

"You mean to tell me this idiot walked into a treaty with the single most corrupt member in your entire guild, with no weapons and no teleport crystals?" Nadar listed off, shaking his head before leaning back. "Sorry, but this doesn't really sound like something we should stick our necks out for."

"I know it must be hard to believe, but please think of this from Thinker's perspective. He thought that Kibaou was truly willing to follow through, and bringing a weapon would just give a bad image."

"So? I trust Kirito with my life but if we were fighting for a couple of months and he asked me to go into a dungeon to solve our differences, I'm wising up and BUYING extra weapons for that." Nadar responded. "He didn't have to have the weapons equipped, Kibaou wouldn't have any clue. He's stuck in a dungeon now and there's no one to blame but him."

"What floor is this dungeon anyways?" Hachiman asked. "I know Thinker is at least level 58, so it'd have to be a higher dungeon to have him trapped."

"It's… a bit complicated." Yulier admitted. "Below the Iron Palace, after Illfang had been defeated, a dungeon had spawned in. The minions were at the same level as the Cobalt Sentinels, this served as a good way to level and no one thought anything of it. But then the Assault Team cleared floor 2, and the dungeon expanded out more. And then after floor 3 and 4 and it's continued to grow, the monsters becoming more powerful the further you go in."

"There was a dungeon like that here?" Asuna asked, surprised at the idea.

"So not only do you have an incompetent leader, but you've been hiding something as vital as a unique dungeon that could be used to level up new recruits fast?" Nadar adds in, raising an eyebrow as he regarded the woman. "You must be shooting for the moon if you think after all this that we're just going to help you. I'm not even the leader here but this is screaming of disaster."

"I hate to agree with him on this… but Nadar's right." Kirito spoke up, getting the entire room's attention.

"Kirito, are you sure?" Sachi asked, getting a nod from him.

"There's too much up in the air. I want to help, but the ALF has kept a lot from us and we don't even know the full story. For all we know this is just an elaborate trap to get us out of the picture for what happened yesterday." The swordsman stated. "I don't like the idea that someone is possibly in danger, but if this dungeon could be as high of risk as the minions of floor 75, there's no telling what could be waiting for us."

"Please!" Yulier cried out as she stood up, surprising everyone. "I know I haven't done anything to earn your trust and everything that's happened up to this point is our fault, but please don't punish Thinker for this!" When tears began to form in Yulier's eyes, even Nadar was taken aback by her outburst. "Everything he's done was to help the players who were too afraid to go out of the Town of Beginnings, he's never once did something for himself. He only kept the dungeon secret because he didn't want anyone to use it, Kibaou was the one who began to abuse the system. So I beg of you, even if you have no faith in me, you have to save Thinker! If he doesn't escape, then everyone will be under Kibaou's thumb when he takes control of the guild."

The group all sat in silence as they looked amongst each other, trying to come up with a plan for what to do. Yulier did take a big risk just looking for them, but as Kirito stated they don't know nearly enough of what's going on. True, their levels will do more than enough against any mob they encounter, but there's no telling what exactly is going to be down there after floor 75 was opened.

"It's okay daddy, she's telling the truth." Yui spoke up to everyone, confusing them as she did.

"Are you sure Yui?" Sachi asked, looking to the girl.

"I'm not sure how, but I know she is." Yui responded, smiling as she looked to Sachi. "She seems nice, isn't it bad to ignore someone who's nice?"

"Fine, whatever." Nadar was the first to relent, slamming his hand on the table as he stood up, surprising everyone. "I couldn't really care less what happens to your leader, but if he's really the only person standing between Kibaou becoming the second coming of Stalin, then I'll take my chances with the dungeon."

"If Nadar's going, then I'm going too." Asuna stated, standing up with him.

"He won't be going into a dungeon without me either." Silica said, getting up as Pina chirped.

Seeing them all get up, Kirito couldn't help but smile and sigh, getting up with them. "Well why not? I guess with all of us together there isn't too big of a risk at least taking a check."

"Guess that pretty much settles things." Lisbeth shrugged as she smirked. "I might not be that high of a level, but I can be a pretty good tank even at the highest floors. So I'll go even."

Sachi nodded as well before putting her hand on Yui's head. "We'll be gone for a few hours, so please behave for Sasha until we come back, okay?"

Yui shook her head as she looked up to Sachi. "No, I'm coming too."

"Yui, it's too dangerous for you to come." Sachi responded. "This isn't just some simple dungeon run, these mobs are going to be dangerous. You don't even have a weapon or any armor."

"I'm coming." Yui argued. "I want to go with mommy and daddy."

"Why not?" Nadar asked, getting his sister's attention. "It's not like we're going to put her up to fight the mobs we encounter. Someone can watch over her while everyone else switches out, nothing we haven't done before."

"But she's in harm's way…" Sachi trailed off as she looked down.

Seeing her struggle with it, Nadar would sigh and walk over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "If her safety is going to bother you so much, then I'll watch over her the whole time." The swordswoman looked up to her brother in shock as he stepped back, crossing his arms as he looked down to her. "I may not be the best there is, but I'll take care of her. Nothing will so much as touch her."

Sachi would then look back down to Yui, who smiled brightly at her. She then relented, looking back to Nadar as she stood up. "She does not so much as go a step ahead of us."

"She won't."

* * *

"So this is the super secret dungeon huh?" Nadar questioned as the group made their way under the Iron Palace in their equipment. The executioner had his axe unequipped, needing his back free as he had Yui sitting on his shoulders. "Kind of a let down if you ask me."

The dungeon was made entirely out of grey stone, the small torches being the only thing to illuminate the halls. The entrance was a large steel door that opened the moment they were close enough, meaning that this dungeon wasn't meant for regular players.

"What were you expecting exactly?" Lisbeth asked. "Walls of gold with a floor of silver?"

"I was actually expecting small spots of material that couldn't be identified as flesh or something else." He grinned in return, walking back with Lisbeth, Sachi and Yulier while the others took the front. "This kind of area would be perfect for a more dark fantasy game if it could just look the part. Maybe throw in a demon or two to make it really astatic. Just a missed opportunity."

"But that'd be scary uncle." Yui complained, looking down to him.

"Nothing better to get the blood pumping." He'd chuckle, stopping when Sachi elbowed his side. "But you wouldn't have to worry Yui, since I'll be with you the whole time here."

"That's better." Sachi nodded, resulting in Nadar roll his eyes.

"Besides, things are only scary if you let them scare you. Fear's the only weakness that you give control over you. Which is why you need to let go of needless fears like ghosts or the dark."

"Oh and this is coming from the fearless executioner?" Lisbeth questioned, raising an eyebrow at him. "So you're going to say you have absolutely no fears?"

"Of course I have fears, mine are just real."

"Like what?"

"Not getting it that easy." He chuckled, the group continuing on down the dungeon. After a few minutes of walking, over a dozen mobs spawned in front of them, signaling the front to move out and take them out, almost effortlessly clearing them out. After they cleared them out, it'd only be a few more minutes before another group would spawn.

The process would repeat for the entire time, and the deeper they got in, the more powerful the mobs would be. But even then, it served as little more than a roadblock for them to bulldoze through. It was becoming such a routine that Nadar trusted Yui enough to have her walking next to him, although she had him holding her hand the whole time.

"You know, that's actually adorable to see." Lisbeth commented as she and Sachi looked back to the two, Nadar giving her a dry look as she smirked. "If we weren't in such a dangerous place, it'd look like you were taking her to the park to play."

"Shut it strawberry shortcake." Nadar spat back, getting a giggle from Yui. His attention then looked up towards the group, watching Asuna as she switched with Silica to take down a mob.

Seeing his gaze, Sachi looked over to Lisbeth and Yulier. "Hey, do you two mind if I went back a bit? I want to talk to Nadar about something." The two nodded without even protesting, and the swordswoman, slowed down to walk next to the two.

"Something on your mind?" Nadar asked her, having heard her request to the two.

"I just wanted to ask you something." Sachi answered, looking over to him. "You and Asuna have been getting… close, right?" She had tried to choose her words carefully, knowing Nadar would stop the conversation if she said something wrong.

"I suppose we have been, what about it?"

"Well it's just I wanted to know how close. You've been spending a lot of time with her so I wanted to know how my big brother is doing."

"We're not dating." He answered simply, looking forward as he did. "So you can stop dodging and just get to what you wanted to say."

"Nadar it's obvious that you like her, and I'm certain that she feels the same about you too." Sachi stated. "I know it's never been your thing to accept feelings that serious, but holding yourself back over something like this is going to hurt you."

"I'm aware." He responded, confusing her. "At first I wasn't sure just how much I felt towards her, initially I just saw it as a crush that would go away after a couple weeks. But when she put more effort in getting to know me and I returned that effort, I knew it wasn't that simple." He then looked down, his shoulders slumping as he sighed. "It wasn't until after the Gleam Eyes that I figured out that I loved her."

"Then why haven't you tried dating yet? I'm sure you two would be happy together."

"Because I'm afraid of what will happen if I get that close to her." He answered. "Asuna wouldn't be the first person I fell in love with, and I don't want her to end up the same."

"Did this happen before we met?"

"At the very beginning of the game." He admitted. "Sachi, I haven't explained to you about it yet, but after this I will. Just understand that after what happened is why I don't deserve the chance at love. And why me keeping this last boundary between our relationship is the best thing for both of us."

"That's not true!" Both Sachi and Nadar looked down to Yui when she spoke up, pouting up to the executioner. "If you like auntie, then you should be with her. Just like mommy and daddy."

"Things aren't quite that simple I'm afraid." Nadar said, looking at the girl with a somber stare. "You wouldn't understand at your age, but some things aren't meant to happen Yui. And in this case, me and Asuna being together is one of them."

"Uncle should be happy." Yui stated. "And you are with auntie. So you should be with each other."

"You'll understand another day." Nadar spoke, looking ahead as he did. He wasn't up for having this talk with Yui, and Sachi knew better than to try and bring up any more of the conversation. And while he started to ignore her, Yui looked up to him with her pout for the whole time they walked, upset at him being against his happiness.

* * *

After over an hour of walking in the dungeon, the group was nearing the end. At the front was Kirito and Yulier, the former having a map open as he kept a look out for any nearby players. When they entered a corridor with massive pillars on the walls, he saw a sudden blink on his screen before an orange dot appeared, signaling a player. "I got someone, down at the end of this hall in a small room."

Hachiman activated a detection skill, allowing him to see farther into the room mentioned. He could see a man sitting on the ground, surrounded by pure white walls and floor, his green and grey uniform were impossible to miss. "He's wearing an ALF uniform as well. Looks like we found him."

"Thinker!" Yulier called out, running towards the room as she did.

"Oh this is going to end well." Nadar muttered as they all started to run after her, him going slower in order to keep Yui from struggling.

Hearing Yulier call out, Thinker's eyes widened as he stood up, seeing her and the others running towards him. "Yulier!?"

"Yes, I'm here Thinker!"

"Yulier no! Get away from here, it isn't safe!" Hearing Thinker's warning, Kirito ran quickly just as he saw a monster ID appear in the corner of his vision. Unsheathing his Elucidator, he was able to tackle Yulier out of the way and parry an attack from a massive scythe.

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks as the walls illuminated in a mixture of colors, and out of one came a large skeleton cloaked entirely in black, wielding a scythe in its right hand. It's name then came clear: **THE FATAL SCYTHE** , appearing a dark red to signal that it was at an extremely higher level than the players.

"What is that, a boss in a dungeon here!?" Sachi gasped in shock, seeing the skeleton suddenly move back into the wall and vanish.

"We have to get out of here now!" Hachiman warned, standing ready with his lance. "I couldn't get a reading on that thing's stats, my detection couldn't see through its defenses."

"W-What does that mean?" Yulier asked shakily as Kirito let her got, pushing her towards the room Thinker was in.

"It means that thing is on par with a boss on the 90 floors." Nadar answered, picking up Yui and running over to the ALF duo. The moment he was there he placed her down and reached into his coat pocket, pulling out three teleport crystals. "You two, I need you to take Yui for us. These are the last crystals I have on hand, use them to get out of here."

"But uncle-"

"Not now Yui!" Nadar interrupted, hearing the Fatal Scythe phase out of the wall. His blood almost went cold before he forced the crystals into Thinker's hands. "Go now! I don't know how long we'll be able to hold it back!"

"But you'll be killed!"

"Yeah, that's kinda what's going in my head." Nadar muttered as he pulled out his axe and ran after the others, seeing them ready themselves as the boss readied an attack. "Silica, Lisbeth, get back!" He ordered, spinning his axe around as the boss did the same with its scythe. His axe then glowed with a Strength skill activated, stopping just in front of the group. "Kirito, Sachi! Strength and Dexterity skills, now!"

Even with the momentary shock from the boss' appearance, the group began to follow the orders and get into position, Kirito's swords glowing blue as Sachi readied a Strength skill. "Asuna and Hachiman, use an Agility skill to try and parry it after my attack, we only have one shot at this!"

"Right!" Everyone responded as everything was in place, the boss swinging its scythe at them. Kirito and Sachi both swung their blades at it. The attacks were completely overwhelmed, but before the scythe hit them Nadar's axe struck it. The two struggled for only a second before even Nadar was overpowered, his axe getting knocked out of his hands and away as the edge of the massive weapon hit him flying back into the wall.

"Nadar!" Seeing the executioner get flung back like he was nothing, the team had nearly allowed the boss to finish its move. Asuna and Hachiman were able to stop it, but the force from the swing knocked all of them back onto the ground, the wind picking up after it finished.

' _That didn't even have a skill behind it.'_ Nadar winced as he pushed up to his hands and knees, feeling his gut tighten in pain from the attack. _'It took out half my health with that one attack, even with Full Force I wouldn't even be able to stop it.'_

"Yui wait!" His eyes widened as he heard Thinker and Yulier call out, the teleport sound going off when they shouted.

"Uncle, please get up." Yui said to him, surprising him as she looked perfectly calm.

"Yui, what are you doing? You need to get out of here right now!"

"Not without everyone." She said, holding her hand out to him. "The Fatal Scythe must go through the wall to ready another attack. We'll only have a second to prepare."

Nadar looked at the girl for a solid second before he heard the boss fade back into the wall, biting down on his teeth as he grabbed her hand and got up. "You shouldn't be here."

"No, but I it's the only way to save mommy and daddy now." She'd say, seeing him stand up to his full height. "You have a high Strength stat, so I'm sure this will work."

"What will work?" He asked before fire erupted around their hands.

"It's okay uncle, it won't hurt you." Yui calmed him, holding his hand gently as the fire went up his arm. "This is a delete program with a single use. It'll amplify your stats for a single attack, enough to be able to overpower the boss."

"How do you know that?" He asked as Yui released him, leaving him to stare at the fire surrounding his arm.

"Because I made it." She answered. "It was meant for a weapon, but the time for you to swing it will be too long. Please uncle, I'll answer your questions later. Save mommy, daddy and auntie."

It was then the Fatal Scythe came back out from the wall, bringing him back to focus as he turned back to it. Tightening his fist, Nadar put all his confusion to the side and relied on what Yui told him. Running forward, he felt the fire spread across his shoulders and to his other arm, cloaking them in the digital hazard as he took a step past the others.

As he moved past them, the boss swung its scythe at him, the point of it heading right for him. Nadar didn't even hesitate as he crossed his arms and took the attack, feeling the impact shake his entire body. He could feel the data that made up his body shake from the attack, but he was able to stay on his feet and remain firm.

Everyone stared in shock at him tanking the hit, seeing his health drop down to the red with just 10% left. And after the attack was finished, Nadar grabbed a hold of the blade and pushed it to the side, opening the boss up. Knowing he only had one shot, Nadar focused on his Agility in his legs, lunging up to its head with fury in his eyes.

Rearing his fist back, Nadar gritted his teeth as he reached the boss. It wasn't able to pull its weapon back to defend itself, allowing him to throw his punch forward and connect with the center of the skull. The punch in itself didn't feel any different from a regular one, but what made it special was the fire erupting and spreading across the skeleton, infecting it like a virus.

When Nadar landed back on the ground, the boss was convulsing like it was going crazy, the fire spreading further and further until it was across its entire body. Once it was completely covered, the boss just stopped and evaporated into nothing, the flames vanishing along with it in one last show of light.

"Nadar?" Kirito asked as he got up, seeing the Executioner stare at where the boss once was, the fire around him disappearing after a few seconds. "What was that?"

Nadar turned to face Kirito, but pointed past him towards Yui, who was standing in front of the door to the white room. "You should be asking her."

"Yui?"

"I'm sorry daddy, you must have a lot of questions."

* * *

"As you could probably guess, I'm not a regular player in SAO." Yui would say as the group went into the room, the little girl sitting on the only thing in there. A stone rectangular block that seemed to shine slightly. "You see, all of SAO is running on a singular system known as CARDINAL. It's meant to operate entirely on its own, updating and creating new floors to the EXP and col received for defeating a monster."

"Well it's doing a poor job with floor 75 I can say that much." Sachi then elbowed Nadar, stopping him from speaking.

"What does that have to do with you Yui?" Sachi asked as she moved up to the girl, looking at her with concern.

"One of the most important roles CARDINAL had in beta was the psychological care of the players." Yui detailed. "When it was going through the final phases of processing, it created a program to evaluate and if need be care for the players struggling to cope with the VR environment. The program's designation… is Yui."

"You're… an AI?" Kirito questioned, everyone surprised at the revelation.

"I was created solely to take care of the players when they were placed into the game, to properly guide and treat them should any suffer psychological damage."

At that detail, everyone looked back to Nadar, who looked back in confusion before raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"However, on the day of SAO's launch, I was forbidden by CARDINAL from interacting with the players." Yui continued, gaining everyone's attention again. "For months I watched as people struggled and suffered, unable to do more than hope they could handle themselves. It was the closest an AI like me had to torture, our core program being ignored and blocked."

She then looked up to the group, smiling with tears in her eyes. "After a year, I felt as though there was nothing I could do, forced to watch endlessly as players took their or others' lives in their damaged states. But then… my processing found an anomaly it couldn't explain."

"A single entity, a player with such a damaged and broken state that every simulation deemed they would only kill." She then looked specifically to Nadar, who raised an eyebrow. "But despite all the suffering they were going through, they would push on and continue with their pain. The system deemed this anomaly appropriate and I was allowed to investigate. However, my program was limited to only travel to the first 25 floors, meaning I couldn't get to him on my own."

"That's when you found Kirito and Sachi, isn't it?" Hachiman asked, getting a nod from her.

"My data showed they were around him the most, so it was best to get close to them. Of course, I wasn't expecting to get as close to them as I did." Her tears then began to slide down her face, disappearing when they dropped off of her. "I was using them to attempt to get close to Nadar, but after how much compassion they showed me, it felt wrong to use them. It was too late to go back though, as the CARDINAL system erased parts of my log to allow me to act as if I had amnesia."

"And what about now?" Nadar asked, looking down to her. "What is it you want now that you have all your program together again?"

"I… I…" She'd speak shakily as she raised her arms up, holding them out to Kirito and Asuna as she cried. "I want to stay with mommy and daddy!"

"Of course you can Yui!" Sachi cried as she went down to hug the girl, Kirito smiling as he leaned down to hold onto both of them.

"What about CARDINAL?" Hachiman asked, interrupting them. "You said it sent you because it wanted data on how Nadar was able to operate. You still haven't done that, not to mention you erased an entire boss from the system just to save us."

"Speaking of which, how did you even do that?" Lisbeth added. "It didn't seem possible to do."

"This is the admin's console." Yui answered, placing her hand down on the slab and activating a holographic keyboard. "Creating the program to delete the boss was simple enough. As for how I gave it to him, I was simply able to transfer it to his NerveGear data to hold it. If I had done it, the system would have rendered me incapable and I would have been deleted. But because uncle… Nadar was close, he was able to preform the job."

"You don't need to worry though." She quickly added. "Since you're a player, the system will think it was just a glitch and prevent it from happening again. So no other players will be able to have a program transferred to them. As for discovering your drive, I understand that it isn't something you wish to speak about."

"Is that why you brought up about me and Asuna?" Nadar asked.

"I believed that if you two confronted your feelings for each other, your data could possibly become recognizable. I didn't consider the impact you could receive being manipulated."

"Well you're way too late for that." Nadar rolled his eyes, looking down to the girl as he crossed his arms. "As for confronting my feelings, that's already come and pass."

"What?"

"Yui, as your data can tell, Nadar is in a complex and difficult state now." Asuna began to speak as she walked up to the girl, kneeling next to the console as she did. "When I discovered what was hurting him, I tried to help him myself. But what I learned was that what he doesn't need is help from someone else." She then smiled as she looked back to the executioner. "He needs time decide things for himself. He isn't ready for something like a relationship, and until he is then I'll be by his side as a friend."

"Even if you want to be closer?"

"Even if I do." She responded.

"I… understand." Yui relented, looking over to Nadar. "Nadar I… I'm…"

"Don't bother apologizing." He stated. "So far this is the least traumatizing trip I've had since I got in this game, so you don't have anything to be sorry for. And besides…" He then smiled as he looked over to Sachi. "Even if you did, I'd have to accept it. I wouldn't want your mother upset at the both of us."

"Nadar, you…"

"Now this is still weird to me." He quickly said, interrupting everyone before they could say anything further. "Adopting a random kid was one thing, but now that kid turns out to be an advanced AI meant to be a psychiatrist that can interact with the game itself. So it's even weirder. But at this point, weird has become the norm so I'll accept this."

That got a round of chuckles from the group, but as they were taking the time to relax Silica's mind began to process something. When she looked over to the little girl, an idea came to mind and she couldn't stop herself from speaking up. "You can interact with the console right!?"

Everyone turned to Silica, caught off guard by her sudden exclamation. "U-Um, yes I can." Yui stuttered.

"Then does that mean you can log everyone out of the servers!?" That idea surprised everyone as they looked over to Yui with their shock broadcasted. However the moment they saw Yui look down, that shock slowly turned to expectance.

"I'm sorry but… I can't." Yui answered, looking down as she did. "The only way for someone to be logged out would be for the Game Master to send a signal to the CARDINAL or the game is completed. I have access to some admin privileges, but I must be given GM status by Kayaba himself to log someone out."

"Well, can't say I'm all that surprised." Nadar admitted as he shrugged. "It'd be way too easy for us to get out just by a console command. But what about you Yui?" He asked, confusing the girl when he did. "You said you couldn't access above floor 25 because the system was preventing you. Now that you're here, is there anything you can do about that?"

That caused her eyes to widen, looking down to the console in haste. "It is possible, I could even give myself a HUD so that I could blend in with the players better."

"You can actually do that?" Kirito asked, watching as the girl began to type on the keyboard.

"It might take some time, but I's sure I could."

"You might want to make a backup of yourself as well." Hachiman recommended. "I take it once this game is over, a lot of stuff is going to be destroyed to prevent this from happening again, including your programming."

"Right, but where should she put it?" Lisbeth asked, looking over to the lancer.

"Whatever she chooses, I hope it works for the best." Nadar shrugged, turning to walk out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Sachi asked.

"To go get Kibaou, what else?" He responded, looking back at everyone. "Thinker isn't going to have the guts to go after him right after escaping this place. Even then, he's a danger to the players here and I figure Heathcliff wouldn't mind me fixing the mess."

"By fixing it, do you mean in your usual way?" Asuna asked, Nadar just turning away and continuing his walk. "I thought so." She sighed with a smile before walking after him. "I'll go with him, make sure he doesn't get too far over his head again." She then waved back to Yui, giving another smile to her. "Bye Yui!"

"Bye auntie!"

"You seriously like being called that?" Nadar asked as she caught up, looking over to her.

"It's really sweet of her to consider me her aunt, just like it is for her to see you as an uncle." She countered. "Besides, I never saw you complain when she called you uncle."

"That was more of Sachi's doing really." He smirked. "She was adamant on me seeing the little twerp as my niece, and it's been getting hard to say no to her."

"Admit it, you like Yui."

"She's the only one who hasn't mentally scarred me, so there's a plus." He chuckled, getting his shoulder punched by Asuna. "Now come on, we got a porcupine to catch."

* * *

' _I don't get it, how did he get out?'_ Kibaou thought as he had his menu open, seeing Thinker appearing back in the town a couple minutes ago. He was biting his lip in anger, curling his hands into fists as he glared at the map. He was currently sitting in his office in the Iron Palace, wearing heavy armor despite being completely safe in the room.

' _It had to be Yulier, that bitch is completely loyal to him. Which means she had to have recruited some of the Assault Team to help her.'_ He then started to grit his teeth as he stood up from his desk. _'Damn it, he had to get out now of all times? Just another day and I could've had this entire guild under control without any issues.'_

He then started to walk towards the door, grabbing his sword from its stand and sheathing it on his back. _'With him back it'll complicate things, but that won't stop me. I have control of the treasury and the armory. If Thinker's loyalists show up it won't be a problem to put them down. It'll look bad, but I'll still have the power in this god forsaken town.'_

Just as he opened the door, he was caught off guard by the sight of Nadar rearing his fist back, a skill ready to strike out. "Hey buddy, long time no see." Without a chance to react, Nadar punched him right in the gut and sent him flying back into his desk, the impact stunning him for a few seconds. He didn't suffer any damage from the attack, but the sheer difference in strength shown made Kibaou instantly on edge like his life was in danger.

"Bastard!" He shouted as he got up and saw Nadar walk towards him, brandishing his sword and swinging it at the executioner. Nadar didn't even react as the sword collided against the purple hexagon, the immortal status stopping the weapon from getting close to him.

"Should've swung your fist." Nadar responded, kicking out and knocking the player over the desk. Kibaou lost his sword in the process, to which Nadar caught and threw to the side. "You'd at least have landed an attack on me if you did."

"Damn it…" Kibaou groaned as he got up from his downed state, his back against the window. "How did you get in here so fast? My guards should've been able to stall you and warn me in time."

"Because your guards can't even hope to keep up with the Lightning Flash." Nadar grinned, Asuna walking into the doorway behind him as she was sheathing her rapier. "They didn't even get close to me as I just walked the whole way to your office. Nothing less than what you'd expect from the fourth best player in the Assault Team."

"You've got to be kidding me, you joined the Knights of the Blood Oath?"

"It wasn't exactly ideal, but I suppose the work does pay well enough. And when you spend all your time with the vice-commander on missions I can't find too many reasons to complain." He then stepped up the desk and moved it to the side without blinking, slowly walking up to Kibaou. Each step echoed in the room, and when he was right up in front of him they stood in absolute silence. In the near two years they last met, the stances they had hardly changed, with Kibaou standing taller than the executioner. But even then, the calm anger that was coming off of Nadar had him completely silent, intimidated from making a single move.

"Kids." Nadar scoffed, looking up to Kibaou as he did. "Kids no older than ten, who are terrified of the world outside this town and just want to get back to their parents. And you decide, to tax them. To threat and intimidate them, all because you can."

"Look whose talking, you damn bastard." Kibaou spat back, despite his shaking hands and instincts telling him not to. "You got Diavel killed, betrayed him just to try and get the bonus item from the boss. You're just as bad as me, you have no ground to stand on in-" Before he could finish, Nadar grabbed him and pulled him in to a vicious knee to his gut, knocking the wind out of him and dropping him to the ground.

"You're wrong, Kibaou." He stated, looking down as the player coughed to get his air back. "I got Diavel killed, but you don't have a single clue on how I actually did. You never will, and that will haunt you to your very core." He then grabbed the back of his armor and picked him up, dragging him as he began to move. "You'll have plenty of time to let it eat away at you. There's a nice little cell on floor 45 for criminals just like you."

"You… belong there too."

"No, I don't." Nadar shook his head, Asuna following as they left. "There's a special place in hell waiting for me. Unfortunately for you however, I'm not checking in just yet."


	21. Hell's Gate

"Five more minutes." Nadar commented as he had his menu up, keeping a close eye on the time as he walked next to Asuna and Hachiman. The three were currently walking through floor 75's Labyrinth with 20 other players, serving as the recon team to map out the rest of the area and find the boss room.

"Counting down the minutes to the anniversary?" Hachiman asked, getting a nod from Nadar.

"Two whole years trapped in this game, and in that time we've made it all the way to floor 75." Asuna commented as she looked over to the two. "And just think, after a month of being in here we couldn't even make it past the first floor."

"It was nerve racking, but luckily it was just the exception rather than the rule." Hachiman responded, shuttering at the thought. "If that were the case, we'd be all the way down on floor 24. And that thought scares me more than any boss we've gone up against."

"You'll probably change that thought when we get to this next one." Nadar chuckled, looking up from his clock to stare at the two. "So aside from floor 74, I've never been the first to see a boss room. Is there any rules to engagement?"

"When we enter the boss room, we stick together no matter what." Asuna explained. "Normally we'd stay in for ten minutes and figure out the boss' attacks before teleporting out. But if this will be anything like last time, we may not have that option. So now we have to all stay together and avoid separating."

"Sounds fair enough." Nadar shrugged as the group turned the latest corner, all stopping when they saw the massive corridor before them. At the end was none other than the boss door, designed with a bright gold that shined with the torches on the wall.

"It's here…" Hachiman muttered, everyone caught off guard that the room was already found. "This Labyrinth is half the size of floor 74's."

"We're getting higher on Aincrad with each floor, which means the total are of each one is going to get smaller." Nadar noted, letting his menu go down as he stared at the massive door. "The Labyrinth's scale with the floors, so it should be a surprise this one is smaller."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Haunt, a Paladin from the Holy Dragon Alliance questioned as he and nine others stepped towards the door. "Shield users, we'll take the front for this. If this boss will be anything like the last, it'll attack instantly. So we need to take the initial attack so the rest can get in."

"We just go in?" Nadar asked. "No preparation, no informing the higher-ups? Just go in and see what we can gather?"

"Pretty much." Hachiman shrugged, pulling his lance out. "We haven't had a problem before, so what's to worry about?"

"Aside from the "we're doomed" vibes from this place?" Nadar asked as they all approached the door, Haunt opening the entrance with a smirk. "Seriously, I am I the only one feeling that an ancient evil is about to be awakened? Cause that's what I'm getting from all of this."

"You're stressing out." Asuna encouraged, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It might be a quarter level boss, but as long as we stick to the plan, we'll be fine."

Nadar stared back for a few seconds, considering it before nodding. "Okay, let's do this."

"Alright men, move out!" Haunt yelled and the ten shield users all ran into the boss room in a line, readying themselves for an attack. Everyone watched as they made it all the way to the center of the area before stopping, everyone realizing the boss wasn't there. "What the hell?"

"What, did the boss glitch out or something?" Nadar chuckled as he walked to the doorway, stopping as he looked in. There were dozens of smaller platforms like the one the players were on, but nowhere in the cave was the boss visible. After standing there for a few seconds, Nadar was about to step in when the doors began to close, shocking him and everyone. "Oh shit!"

"Everyone, get out of there!" Hachiman shouted as Nadar jumped away from the door, the players turning to run after them.

"We have to go after them!" As the door was closing, Asuna was beginning to run after them, knowing that they wouldn't make it in time.

"We're not going to make it!" Haunt shouted, reaching for the entrance as it was near closed.

Asuna was just about to reach out for him as well, but was caught off guard as Nadar turned and tackled her from the door, the two landing a few feet away. When she was able to look up, she saw the door close, sealing them in before fading away from sight.

"It's just like I thought." Nadar said as he stood up, staring at the wall where the door was. "When that door closes, nothing is going to be able to get in or out. The boss must activate when the doors close."

"Why did you stop me!?" Asuna demanded, getting up shortly after. "They're going to be fighting the boss alone! They'll die!"

"It wouldn't change if we were there." Nadar responded, turning back to her. "Asuna, twenty players against a boss will never work. Without a clear idea of what that thing can do, we would be slaughtered."

"But you have your Unique Skill! You went against a boss one on one and won, we could've done something!"

"Asuna I barely beat the Gleam Eyes!" Nadar shouted back, surprising the player as he stood firmly. "It was at half health when I fought against it, even with Full Force I could barely keep up with it to finish it. Even then, I had an idea on how to fight it because we saw it before fighting it. On the quarter floor, against a boss we have no idea about, I don't think I'd last more than ten minutes."

"But… they need…"

"I know, I'm sorry." Nadar said gently as he hugged Asuna, feeling her return the embrace instantly. And as he did, the rest of the players could hear the desperate sounds of demonic screeching and the occasional scream from the players echoing in their ears. Nadar was the only one without a high enough detection to hear them, but hearing Asuna's crying was all he needed to know that it was horrible.

The door wasn't closed for five minutes before it opened again, revealing the room completely empty. None of the players were left, and the boss was gone as if it had never appeared to begin with. That sent a shiver down everyone's back, as they knew this boss was in a complete other league from all the previous.

"We need to tell Heathcliff, now." Hachiman ordered. "This is going to be hell."

* * *

"Ten players dead, and we don't even know what the boss' name is." Heathcliff sighed as he sat behind his desk. Nadar, Hachiman and Asuna were all standing in front of him, all recovering to some degree from abandoning those players to their deaths. "How long did they last?"

"No longer than five minutes." Nadar stated. "They died on the very second of the anniversary of us getting trapped in here."

"Damn, so many so quickly." Heathcliff swore under his breath, looking to Hachiman. "What would you suggest Hachiman? Do we use the team we have so far, or do we gather a few of the reserve players to aid us?"

"With all due respect commander, but you're going to need a bigger boat." Nadar interrupted, stepping forward.

"I assume you have an idea?" Heathcliff questioned, hiding a smirk from the executioner's words.

"It's something I'm going to regret saying, and to be honest I'm not even sure on it myself. But after seeing how quickly ten of the Assault Team's best getting wiped I don't think we have a choice." Nadar added in, stalling from having to say his idea.

"Nadar, I'm sure you have a perfectly reasonable idea. Speak your mind and tell us the plan."

"We have a prison don't we?" Nadar responded, confusing the commander. "Dozen's of criminal players, with a known seven at minimum being able to keep up with our players."

"Oh god, you're not saying what I think you are, are you?" Asuna asked, not getting a response from Nadar as he continued.

"Aside from Laughing Coffin, I know there's at least ten criminals at level 85, meaning they can help us fight against the boss in some sense. I'd say all our reserves plus 17 able players should be enough to at least challenge this thing."

"Nadar, are you crazy?" Hachiman asked. "You're saying we should recruit killers to help us against this thing?"

"I am." He answered, looking back to the lancer. "They're scum of the earth, but if they can help turn the tides then they're exactly what we need right now. Getting them supplies won't be a problem, and we don't need to waste much time on getting them up to speed."

"I assume you have a good reason for recommending this option?" Heathcliff asked, raising an eyebrow to the player. "You know better than anyone that these players will not hesitate to kill any of us. And I recall you not wanting any of them to see the light of day again instead of killing them."

"Which should be a signal to how I feel about this boss." Nadar responded, looking down as he did. "I'm not going to lie, I'm scared of what's going to happen. I never once considered a boss being able to wipe out ten players so quickly, at least not down here. I wasn't expecting that much challenge until floor 90. But if it really is that strong, I don't think we have much of a choice."

"You of all people, scared?" Heathcliff then folded his hands together as he thought over the idea, everyone remaining silent as he did. "Very well, if you feel that this boss is that dangerous, then I'll see to it we have all the men we have at our disposal."

"Commander!?"

"I know it's risky Asuna, but the stakes are high." Heathcliff said, looking to his second at her protest. "Nadar and I disagree on many things, but I respect him enough to believe he is truly concerned about this battle. I believe we all know how much it'd take for him to recommend letting Them out."

"I'll keep an eye on all of them." Nadar volunteered. "If it means keeping them in check, I'll risk the knife in my back. Although I don't think they'll actually do it."

"Do you now?"

"They have survival instincts, especially Laughing Coffin." Nadar explained. "Once we're in the boss room, they won't risk their necks like that. And if we're lucky, they'll be exhausted afterwards and unable to fight back."

"Then I'll trust your word." The commander then stood up, steeling himself for what he would have to do. "I'll gather any criminal able to assist us. As for you Nadar, I need you to get Kirito and Sachi for us. They haven't been responding to my messages for the past hour now."

"Yeah, I told them awhile ago to just ignore you." Nadar shrugged. "I'll go and get them. We'll be back up within an hour, just get the sum ready to move out."

"I'll go with him." Asuna said, the two walking off and leaving Hachiman and Heathcliff alone.

"What do you think, is this a good idea?" Hachiman asked the commander, who sighed as he thought it over.

"Personally I'd rather those criminals remained behind bars for the rest of our time here. However, I also know that Nadar being on edge means this will be a truly dangerous boss. I don't trust them, but I do trust Nadar's judgment on this. So we'll see if it was right when we get there."

"That's a big leap."

"Do you not trust him?"

"Of course I do, I just wasn't expecting you to." Hachiman answered. "You two have been at each other's throats a lot recently, so putting your faith in him is a bit of a surprise."

"Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later." Heathcliff smirked, turning to face the window behind him. "Plus, I'm interested in seeing him take charge like he has. Perhaps he'll make a good leader for the Assault Team."

 _'And possibly a good replacement for dealing with them.'_

* * *

"This blows." Nadar sighed as the two appeared at the teleport platform for floor 22, which was close to the largest lake on the floor. "First ten recon players bite it, then we have to pull out everything to take on this boss, and now pulling Kirito and Sachi out of their honeymoon early."

"Well it was you who recommended getting criminals involved." Asuna reminded. "As for Kirito and Sachi, you know there was no avoiding them getting involved. They're some of our best and we need them for this."

"I know, but they just got themselves a kid. It just doesn't feel right." As the two stepped over a hill, they looked down to see a large group of people all by the lake, all surrounding Sachi as they seemed to be in a mixture of awe and praise.

"What's going on?" Asuna questioned, confused at the crowd.

"Oh yeah, Kirito got dragged into some big event for some special fish. They throw a festival every time this guy tries to get the thing and here they are." He then shrugged, not playing it off as anything big, seeing Yui, Silica and Lisbeth down with Kirito. "I almost forgot he sent a message to me as an invitation to join in."

"You didn't come for it?" Asuna asked, getting a pat on her head from Nadar in response.

"I would have had to leave you all by your lonesome if I did. Can't have that now can I?" He chuckled before walking forward, heading for the others.

"Good job honey." Kirito congratulated Sachi after she effortlessly dealt with the field boss.

"Must have been quite something to have so many people." Nadar spoke up before the swordsman could approach Sachi, getting everyone's attention.

"Nadar?" Lisbeth called out to the executioner, who gave a single wave.

"That is my name here, yep. Sorry I missed this, had to go out on recon with Asuna and Hachiman."

"You missed it Nadar!" Silica shouted as she ran up to him, bursting with excitement. "There was this really big fish, and it could actually walk on land after Kirito pulled it out! But it wasn't easy for him, it took him all his effort just to pull it up to the dock and…" While she started off excited, as she saw Nadar's somber expression it slowly went down until she was concerned. "Nadar?"

"You found the next boss, didn't you?" Yui asked, getting a nod from him.

"There's… a bit more to it too." He admitted, looking back towards Asuna as he did.

"You're wearing your equipment." Kirito noted, putting it together right away. "Are we going after the boss already? Did you figure out its attack pattern that quickly?"

"That's part of the reason I'm here." Nadar explained. "Are you guys able to get ready in a couple minutes? I'll explain everything when we're in Grandzam."

The tone that Nadar spoke in put everyone on edge, making them nervous to hear what it was that he'd tell them. But despite that, they knew that it'd be important, and nodded in agreement to wait before hearing everything.

* * *

"No way…" Kirito spoke in shock, staring at the executioner and Lightning Flash at hearing what had happened to the recon team.

"Ten of our best players are dead, in less than five minutes?" Sachi asked again, wanting to make sure she heard it correctly.

"That's right, we couldn't believe it ourselves at how quickly they were dealt with." Asuna responded, looking down in shame as she did. "They were all Paladins and Lancers, we didn't imagine them getting wiped so quickly as they were."

"Do we know what the boss even looks like?" Silica asked. "Even something like equipment that could give us a clue of what we're fighting against?"

"Absolutely none." Nadar shook his head. "The doors closed and disappeared. Apparently you could still hear what was going on if your detection skill is high enough though. All we gathered from that though was screeching and a strange clacking that Hachiman thinks was bones."

"So you guys are going in blind?" Lisbeth responded. "That's suicide, you won't stand a chance against a milestone boss with no information on it."

"That's why we're putting everything on the table." Nadar stated. "We're pulling in the reserve players to replace the ten we lost, plus a handful of mercenaries and other players willing to risk the rewards. Nothing is off the table in this."

"You're concerned… why?" Yui noticed her uncle slightly look away, signaling he was hiding something. "Is there something else bad going on?"

"Even with the extra players, I felt we wouldn't be ready yet to deal with the boss. So I recommended we… take an extra step." Nadar said hesitantly, getting glances from everyone aside from Asuna. "I said we should recruit the prisoners we had locked up that could and would fight against the boss, including Laughing Coffin."

"Are you crazy!?" All of them shouted at him, getting him to step back from the volume.

"Do I need to remind you what they did to you?" Kirito glared as he stepped up to Nadar.

"No, I'm pretty sure I have the most solid grasp of that."

"Then you must be on something to think I'd let them get anywhere near anyone here!" Kirito shouted as he grabbed Nadar's collar, the two staring one another down. "They've done nothing but try to kill you since they showed up, they even did when we fought them! And you're saying we should trust them!?"

"I never said to trust them." Nadar responded. "We're using them to fight the boss. You don't have to like it, but it's what we're doing."

"And what if they betray us and try to kill you? What about then!?"

"Then I die because I underestimated their survival instincts." Nadar then grabbed Kirito's wrist, his eyes wide in a cold anger as he stared the Black Swordsman down. "Do not think for a second that I made this decision lightly. I want them to remain locked up and never get out of here alive. But with what we're up against, I'm willing to throw away two years of rage."

"So you're putting all of this on a spare chance?" Kirito gritted his teeth as he pulled Nadar closer, not backing down from Nadar's anger and tightening his hold on his gear. "You'll throw everything away again just because of some small percent chance they won't go ahead and kill you. You're insane."

"It's better one life is taken than the entire Assault Team."

"You might be a part of the KoB, but you're still a Black Cat at heart! And don't think for a second that I'd just stand there and watch you get killed again!"

Although most took it as a signal to Kirito watching after Nadar, both the player himself and Yui picked up on the meaning. Which lead to Yui to start crying and Nadar to retaliate and slam his forehead against Kirito, stunning him and separating the two.

"Don't you dare ever consider that!" He shouted as Kirito rubbed his head, everyone shocked by his outburst. "I don't want you to even think of doing something as stupid as throwing your life away for the likes of me! You have a family you bastard! You're the one that has something to live for!"

"You have something to!" And to shock everyone further, Kirito lashed out and punched Nadar, the blow even catching Nadar off guard and knocking him down. "You've had something to fight for since we first joined the Moonlit Black Cats! But all you do is throw your life to the wind like an idiot!"

"Kirito stop!" Sachi pleaded as she grabbed the swordsman, stopping him from going further despite him fighting against her.

"You're more to everyone than the Executioner of Aincrad! You're Nadar, a part of our family! But you don't even consider how much you dying would affect us!" The swordsman then began to cry as well despite his anger, the system causing the tears to flow. "You died for me because I made the mistake of trusting PoH! And now you're going to go and let it happen all over again!"

After Kirito stopped his shouting, Nadar used his thumb to wipe at his lip on instinct, getting up as he glared at Kirito. "You get it out of your system yet? Done trying to tell me things I already know?" His calm response surprised Kirito, stopping his furry to see the tears escaping his eyes. "I know you all care about me, and that me dying would do nothing but make things worse. But if it means you all live, then I'll gladly make that sacrifice. All the guilt in the world won't stop me from doing everything in my power to protect you."

He then turned away from the group and started to walk away, wiping his tears away as he stomped away. "I need to go and check on the criminals we'll have. Do whatever you want for the next hour when we move out."

"I'll go-"

"No." Nadar said as he held his hand to Asuna, stopping her. "I need to do this alone. You'd just give me a crutch for them to exploit." With his refusal, everyone had to watch as the executioner walked away. The gravity of everything weighing down on them. And as Yui continued to cry and Sachi went to comfort her, Kirito was forced to stand there and think on what was going on with his brother.

 _'Nadar… what are you going to do?'_

"Ah, the man of the hour!" Johnny Black laughed as he saw Nadar approach, him and the rest of Laughing Coffin and several other criminal players all standing in the central plaza of Grandzam while surrounded by KoB and HDA players. "Talk about a true blessing to all of us!"

"You are beyond desperate for this, huh?" XaXa grinned as he regarded the executioner, shifting his hood on his head. While they were all given their equipment back, even given better weapons, they refused to give XaXa his mask. Making it easier to predict when he'd attempt to make a move.

"I take it you aren't surprised?" Nadar completely ignored the two and looked over to PoH, who smirked and shrugged his shoulders in response. "Of course. Look we can talk all day about how this is the most bitter irony ever, or we can start to make a deal."

"A deal?" PoH questioned, looking down to the executioner with an interested gaze.

"I got a job, and you're the only ones I can trust for it."

"You're crazy if you think we'd-" Before XaXa could argue further, PoH held his hand up, signaling for him to stop.

"What's in it for us?"

"I don't tell the authorities in the real world any of your actual identities." Nadar answered, instantly getting grins from them.

"Oh hot damn!" Johnny Black shouted, getting Nadar to slam his hand on his mouth.

"Shut it Black, this is between us." Nadar warned, letting go of his mouth after he finished. "No one can know about this. And if I so much as get the idea anyone else is in on it, I'll end you all myself."

"Normally we'd prefer a large sum of col, but I suppose that's a better deal than anything you could offer." PoH spoke up, crossing his arms. "So then, what's this job you want us to do?"

"I have a suspicion on our glorious commander, one that came after the duel I had with him." Nadar explained. "And I need someone fast enough to accomplish what I have in mind."

"What about your buddies?" XaXa asked. "All of them are speed based, I'm sure one of them could do the job just fine."

"I'm trying to keep their involvement to a minimum, incase my hunch turns out to be a bust." Nadar answered. "So after them, you're my best bet."

"Okay, anything else before we get the plan?"

"Black, give me two of your paralysis knives."

"It's Johnny Black, it isn't that hard." The assassin complained as he pulled out two of his knives and gave them to Nadar, who put them in his belt pouch. "What'd you need them for?"

"One will be your signal to move in. The second is for if it turns out to have been worth it." He stated. "Now if you're done asking questions, here's the plan."

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I will not lie to you. This is a grand risk we are all taking today." Heathcliff spoke as the entire Assault Team stood before the boss door, sounding extra extravagant for his speech. "What lies before us is a foe far more dangerous than anything we've faced before. And with the tragedy that befell our recon group, I cannot even give you the comfort of knowing what we are about to face."

"I cannot guarantee that all of us will leave this battle alive, but that is precisely the reason we must succeed here. For if we do not, then we have failed all of the players supporting us in our quest to clear this game for them and-"

"Um, why are there a dozen criminals here?" One of the players interrupted, completely ruining the mood of the speech.

"Ah, well as I've stated, we are unaware of what we are about to face. So as a way to bolster ourselves, we have put our faith in the ones we once called our enemies. In a righteous banner of brothers and sisters in arms-"

"Was it smart to give them better weapons?" Another spoke up, getting an eye twitch from the commander.

"Well they wouldn't be as well prepared for this battle, and we are relying on them to-"

"Couldn't they just attack us once the battle is over and go and kill all of us if the boss didn't?"

"Ugh, this is going to be a slaughter." Heathcliff groaned, already getting barraged by countless questions.

"All of you better be careful." Lisbeth said to Kirito and Sachi, standing next to Yui. The two weren't going to go in, but since there weren't any enemies in the corridor leading up to the boss they were able to stay there and wait for the battle to end. Either to confirm their victory or defeat.

"Don't worry, we will." Sachi smiled as she held Kirito's hand, the swordsman looking over to Nadar who was standing in front of the criminals.

 _'What are you planning?'_ He thought, soon being interrupted as he felt Sachi grip his hand a bit tighter.

"Kirito?"

"Sorry, I was thinking about something." He chuckled lightly before looking to Yui, smiling down to her. "I promise we won't be long. The battles for the past ten floors have been fast paced, so I'm sure this'll be a fast boss as well."

"Protect mommy no matter what, okay?" Yui ordered him, getting a shared laugh from the three players.

"Don't worry, I promise."

"You worried about him?" Hachiman asked Asuna, noting her absent stare at the executioner.

"Yeah, he recently had a bit of an episode and I'm worried he might do something reckless." Asuna admitted, looking down as she did.

"Yeah, I hadn't seen him yell at Kirito like that since the assault on Laughing Coffin, I'm scared for him." Silica added in, Pina huddling closer to her for comfort.

"Hey, there's nothing to worry about." Klein responded, him and Agil walking up to the trio as he did. "Nadar's always been a little reckless, but I'm sure he's thought all of this over. He wouldn't let those guys out if he didn't."

"Agil? You're here too?" Hachiman spoke the shopkeeper, surprised to see him present after having stopped coming at floor 60.

"Yeah, what can I say? The commander was offering quite the reward to anyone willing to sign up." The man responded, grinning as he looked down to him. "Plus with all the items I could get from this plus the actual rewards, I couldn't pass it up. I'm just lucky I caught on to it when I did."

"Yeah, sure that's what it's about." Hachiman rolled his eyes, looking towards the door afterwards. "It had absolutely nothing to do with the message I sent you."

"Nah, I'm confident in our faithful executioner." Agil stated, unsheathing his massive axe as he did. "No doubt he has a special plan for this boss."

"Big guy's right, cut my Red Bro some slack." Klein agreed, grabbing his katana and readying it. "He's gotten this far, there's no way this game will take him like that."

"If you say so." Asuna nodded, allowing the players' words to relax her a bit. True, they might not know as much about the player as she did, but they certainly have known and trusted him longer than her. If they thought he was okay, then that'd have to be good enough for her. Besides, she had to prepare herself for the boss and couldn't risk getting distracted by her thoughts.

"Alright, does that answer everyone's questions?" Heathcliff asked the raid group, getting a response of complete silence as a result. "Thank Christ… then, let us fight for our lives, to battle!" Opening the door, all of the players began to all pool in, rushing with their weapons brandished for the upcoming battle.

Once they were all in, the door closed and vanished from existence, leaving them in the dark and silent cave to wait in agonizing silence. The tension in the air was so thick the players could feel it enter their throat, making each second feel like a minute.

Eventually a single drop of water fell from the ground, getting Hachiman and Klein to look up, both their eyes widening in horror at what they saw. "Oh shit…"

Hearing them, everyone began to look up, and one after the other became just as shocked as them at what they saw. A massive boss, made entirely out of bones with a long body and sharp scythe like claws. When everyone had seen it, the boss' eye sockets glowed a bright red and it let out a devilish screech, revealing its five health bars and foreboding name.

 **THE SKULL REAPER**

It then began to move down from the ceiling, and instantly Heathcliff and Kirito became aware and started to give orders.

"Everyone, stay away from it and spread out!" The commander ordered, all but two players listening as they were paralyzed with fear.

"Get out of there!" Kirito shouted to them, snapping them out of their shock. "Come on, get over here!"

The two players fought against their fear and started to run for the group of players, but soon after the Skull Reaper landed on the platform with the players. And in the second it did, the entire area began to glow a bright red and it swung one of its limbs out at them, striking them with enough force to send them into the air.

"We got you!" Sachi called out as she and Klein went to catch the two, only to stare in horror as they exploded into fragments before reaching them.

"N-No way…" Hachiman said in disbelief. "Those were two of our tanks and they… they went down in one hit?"

"Oh god." Asuna whispered shakily, fear creeping on all of the players again at the boss staring at them.

But the boss wasn't waiting for them to react, as it rushed out after a lone player out from any of the groups. While most then began to run away, Heathcliff stood firmly before rushing out, managing to parry the strike from the boss and save the player. The boss however didn't stop and swung out with its second limb, cutting the player down and rushing past the commander.

"Marauder's Malice!" As it was getting ready to select its next victim, its attention was instantly turned to Nadar, who activated his agro skill to prevent it from targeting anyone else. "Hey, Ugly! Come and get me!"

"Nadar are you insane!?" Kirito shouted out as the boss screeched and rushed after the executioner, ignoring all the much easier to reach players.

 _'I really hope this works.'_ Nadar winced as he brought his axe up, managing to block the first swing of the boss. It wasn't a struggle for him, as his strength proved enough to be able to match the attack, but left himself open as the second attack was coming from his side.

"Schmitt, Godfrey, now!"

"On it!" Before it struck though, Godfrey and Schmitt ran up and blocked the incoming attack, their combined strength matching against the boss' and stopping it in its tracks.

"Attack it, now!" Hearing his order, several Laughing Coffin assassins, including XaXa, rushed right at the boss' head and struck out with Strength skills, knocking the boss back and freeing the three players from the burden.

"Did… did they just…" One of the HAD lancers struggled to say, shocked at seeing the teamwork down.

"How did you know we were going to make it in time?" Schmitt asked, looking over to Nadar as he took a calming breath.

"I'm going to be honest with you. I didn't, but I'm glad you did." He answered before running after the boss, his agro skill still in affect. "Listen up! If you have a high strength stat you can block an attack for a couple seconds! If we occupy both of its claws, it can't attack! Use that window to attack it!"

When the boss reacted and struck at Nadar again, he blocked it again and stalled the blade. And as the second strike was coming in, Heathcliff appeared and blocked it just as easily, the two holding it in place.

"Quite the ingenious plan you had Nadar. Very quick thinking." Heathcliff complimented, Kirito and Sachi both lunging forward and hitting the boss again as Klein and Hachiman hit its sides.

"Quit the lip service and help me keep it busy!" Nadar shouted as he ran forward again and knocked the next attack to the side, digging the boss' claw into the ground as a result. As two players began to rush it from its side, Nadar's ability wore off, allowing the boss to detect and swing out at them, killing them in a single blow.

"Shit! Get back!" Nadar shouted as he lunged back, avoiding the boss as it freed its claw and slashed at him. The attack just grazed him, taking 10% of his health like it wasn't even there.

"I got you!" Asuna called out as she caught him, keeping him on his feet when he ran into her.

"Thanks." He said back, smiling for a second before hardening his expression. The boss was then going around the battlefield, attacking players when it could and recoiling when it got hit. "Stay by my side for this, okay? I'd rather you here where I can protect you than out by yourself."

"I wasn't planning on going anywhere else." Asuna responded.

"Save the gushy romance for after we kill the incarnation of Satan!" Johnny Black shouted as he dodged a swing from the boss, jumping back repeatedly as it continued its assault at him. "And someone help me for fuck's sake!"

"Take this you hellish science display!" Klein shouted as he ran across its side, digging his blade in while Schmitt and Heathcliff blocked the scythes from hitting the assassin.

"Piece of Schmitt! My hero!"

"Please, please don't talk to me." Schmitt grunted half nervously as he held the boss back, his stress being relieved as Agil rushed forward and swung up, hitting it with enough force to knock it back.

"Yeah, seriously!" Nadar said as he ran past the group. "You messed up a perfect Skeletor reference with your jab at my and Asuna's relationship that hasn't happened yet!"

"Fuck you're right!" Johnny Black screamed as he ran up with the executioner. "Why didn't you stop me!?"

"I'm not your damn babysitter Black!" Nadar responded before the two jumped apart, Nadar landing and blocking another attack from the boss.

When it swung its second attack, Kirito and Sachi both blocked it, the Black Swordsman looking over to Nadar as they held it back. "Is this really the… moment for this?"

"There's always time for shit talking!" Johnny Black responded as he and Silica attacked the boss, both sending a flurry of fast jabs at it before retreating back. "He-he-hey! Shorty, you've gotten faster! Way to go!"

"Don't even think about it Black!" Nadar shouted as he jumped top knock a stray attack from the boss away, not able to react quick enough as it cut down three players in a single swing. "This piece of shit is really starting to piss me off!"

"Stay clear minded Nadar!" Heathcliff ordered. "We cannot have you losing your temper at it."

"Fuck you I do what I want!" Nadar responded as he rolled underneath the boss' next attack at him and swung up, hitting its underside and landing a rare critical strike. Seeing the effect having taken effect, he quickly did a test and swung his fist up without a skill, seeing the critical notification go off again. "Bulls-eye!"

"Nadar watch out!" The executioner didn't have time as the boss maneuvered and swung at him, just being saved as Godfrey, Agil, Klein and Hachiman blocked it.

"Stop throwing yourself in dangerous situations you can't get out of!" Hachiman shouted as he struggled next to Klein, the two being relieved as Nadar and Silica struck the boss.

"If I didn't then we wouldn't get anywhere!" Nadar grinned, looking over to Silica. "Sili, I need you to take Sachi, Hachiman, Black and any critical strike players you can find and start hitting its belly! It's a central spine is a weak point!"

"Do I have to bring him with me?" Silica whined.

"That hurts Shorty, I thought we had something special!" Johnny Black complained, jumping away as the boss attacked him. "Fuck!"

"Just ignore most of what he says, trust me it's easier than it sounds." Nadar advised her, getting a nod before she and the others started to group up.

"So any more ideas?" Kirito asked as he and PoH stood next to Nadar, who nodded as his eyes glowed in anticipation as the boss focused at the three of them.

"Don't get killed." Seeing the boss' own red orbs brighten, he knew something big was coming and the three rushed at it. When they were getting close, the Skull Reaper began to impale its claws at the ground quickly, attempting to hit them with its fast but unfocused attacks. As it brought both its claws up for a final attack, PoH and Kirito both stopped on instinct as Agil and Godfrey rushed next to him, all three swinging up with Strength skills and stunning it.

With the window open, both Kirito and PoH jumped up and slashed across the boss' eyes with quick, powerful attacks that combed together. At their last attack, both flipped back and landed behind the axe users, who all readied themselves and blocked the piercing attack sent at them.

"Not doing too bad for a bunch of slackers!" Nadar grinned to the two as they parried the attacks, Sachi and Silica making a quick attack on the boss' weak spot before running away.

"Ain't no way in hell I'm missing this payday!" Agil grinned just as excitedly as Nadar, the two sharing a competitive stare. "And you can bet your ass I'm going to show you what it really takes to wield an axe in this game!"

"You saved my life from Laughing Coffin, I'll gladly fight and improve to aid you in this battle!" Godfrey stated as he and Nadar swung to the left, parrying the boss' attack before Heathcliff blocked the next one.

"Well then, prove it!" The executioner shouted as his eyes glowed brightly, any worry he had now completely gone as the Assault Team began to give the boss everything they had.

The fight had gone on for almost ten minutes after, with the team suffering casualties while the boss was taking a steady flow of attacks. Eventually though, its eyes glowed brighter than before and its scythes actually glowed with a Strength skill, everyone stopping when it did.

However as it was readying its attack, both Nadar and Heathcliff were running side-by-side, the two glaring at the boss as the light of its attack reflected in their eyes. And in the last second before the attack hit them, the two separated and dodged. The moment they stopped the turned and stabbed into the boss' limbs with their weapons, pinning them to the ground.

"Now, while it can't move!" Nadar shouted, him and the commander struggling to hold it down as it fought against them.

No one needed to be told twice as they all rushed in to attack it, swinging with every single skill they had at their disposal. As the boss was going critically into its final health bar, Kirito's swords began to glow brightly as he jumped right at the boss' face when it screeched.

"You're going down! Starburst Stream!" And in a brilliant display of both speed and strength, Kirito began to cut away at the boss' health, traces of blue energy flowing off of his blades as the effects weren't able to keep up with him. At the 50 and final attack, Sachi jumped up along with him and readied a Dexterity skill, the two screaming in synchronization as they cut down its entire head.

When their attack finished, the boss screeched in unholy pain before its health dropped to nothing, shattering into fragments as it was finally defeated. Everyone had to almost take a minute to process their victory before they all started to collapse in exhaustion.

Another boss was taken down, but there was a deep cost to taking it down. And there's no telling how many more might be made to prepare for the next.

* * *

 **(A/N): You cannot believe how happy I am to get another chapter out after my hiatus. Luckily this chapter was a blast for me and I hope it was for all of you as well. Originally this was going to cover the entire end of the Aincrad arc, but after passing 7,000 words I decided to split the chapter off here and do the next one to avoid the chapter being too long and hard to sit through. But there shouldn't be much to worry, as I got a solid 500 words on the next chapter meaning my struggle to start a chapter won't stop me from picking up right away. Once again I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and that you have a good day! Peace!**


	22. Aincrad's Execution

**(A/N): Just a quick heads up, the reason this came out so quick was because I was extremely hyped for this, and I couldn't stop myself from writing. I've been sitting in front of my computer for roughly 8 hours, the previous chapter was done yesterday but I just posted it today because I was deciding on the chapter split. And luckily I did, together they would've been 15,000 words. And since i didn't have to worry about them separate being too long like I would together, i was able to put in my full plan I had for this chapter since the very beginning! It doesn't sound like an improvement, but it's very rare I manage that. But never mind that, let's get to the Aincrad finale!**

* * *

Seeing everyone going down, Nadar walked tiredly over to Asuna and Silica, collapsing next to them and sighing in relief. "We did it."

"Thanks to your quick thinking." Asuna smiled as the two leaned their backs against each other to keep them up. "I would've preferred you didn't go in so risky though. We got separated at the end there.

"What can I say? I'm good at what I do." He chuckled, getting weak laughs from the girls before they heard shouting.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Yui exclaimed as she ran to Kirito and Sachi, the two embracing her as they all sat together.

"Told you it wouldn't… take long." Kirito panted as he held his daughter close, the affection between the three bringing a smile to everyone.

"Wow, you look like a truck ran you over." Lisbeth commented as she knelt down next to Nadar and the others, smiling at relief at them all making it.

"So better than you still." Nadar half grinned at her, getting a gentle punch to his shoulder in response.

"Jerk."

"So how many?" Nadar asked over to Klein, dreading the answer to the casualties they suffered.

"We lost 29 players, three that were criminals outside of Laughing Coffin." Hachiman answered, looking at the menu as he did.

"29… and there's still 25 floors still to go." Klein said in despair, him and the Fuurinkazan all resting next to each other.

"Forget 25, how are we supposed to make it past ten more like that?" Agil responded, sprawled back on his back looking up to the ceiling.

"Well, there's that secret dungeon down on floor 1 the executioner told us about." Kudzu brought up, sitting with his fellow Paladins in the KoB. "We could level some of our lower ranks and boost them. Hell, we could just go down there for a week and probably come back 20 levels higher and clear almost everything."

"Are you sure that's wise though?" Heathcliff asked, the only player still standing with his health in the green. "That function could be abused. And if we just level like that we could be losing the experience of a lifetime playing an awesome game."

"Awesome sir? That's a joke right?" One of the players questioned.

"Come again?" Heathcliff responded, honestly confused at the response.

"Well let's be real sir, this game is nothing but a hot mess." Schmitt spoke up from next to Godfrey. "Taking out the obvious problem of bypassing a safe zone for killing, we got broken NPCs, quests that become impossible to complete or update after a boss is defeated, and our teleport crystals now almost never go to the exact place you want them to. Those are our literal lifelines, and now they are absolutely worthless in boss battles now."

"It also could've used stuff like archery or magic." Hachiman added in. "Would've at least made the fantasy of this game more enticing and maybe make everything safer for half the players."

"Okay, so the game still has a few minor bugs and missing features, but this is groundbreaking technology we're talking about here. Real Virtual Reality people, where's your sense of wonder!?" Heathcliff spoke, his cool exterior slowly deteriorating at the conversation being had.

"Hey, don't get too offended boss man, this game is still great." Nadar spoke, keeping a close eye on Heathcliff, noting PoH on a knee with his cleaver in hand. "I mean, it's the best I've played in a long time. But let's be serious, the only reason any of us picked this game was because it was the only available title when, surprise, Tron was suddenly a thing."

"Oh, so now you've seen Tron!?" That response caused Nadar to grin, reaching into his pouch and pulling out one of Johnny Black's knives.

"Nadar?" Asuna spoke back to Nadar as he stood up, her eyes widening as she saw him ready the knife and activate his throwing skill, sending the knife right at Heathcliff. "Commander!"

"What?" Seeing the knife approach, Heathcliff raised his shield to block in the heat of the moment. But before it got close, he realized that the knife went just past him, Nadar's poor aim serving as a decoy as PoH lunged at the paladin from behind.

"It's show time!" The assassin grinned as he swung the cleaver down at the commander, excited to see what damage he could provide against the player. But before it could touch the commander, everyone was shocked as his weapon struck against a purple hexagon. Even PoH was caught off guard by the commander's immortal status, but jumped away to avoid any potential retaliation from him.

"W-What the hell?" Klein struggled to say, everyone staring at the commander as he remained at the center of the platform, the hexagon remaining by him.

"Commander, what is that?" Godfrey asked, his question breaking at Heathcliff's composure and getting him desperate.

"Oh goodness me, it's a miracle! This unexpected glitch has saved me from this assassin's blade!" The commander tried to convince, his calm composure gone at all the stares. "Quickly, my friends, subdue him before he strikes again!"

"That doesn't answer the question honestly, does it commander?" Nadar questioned back, smirking as he stared at Heathcliff.

"So that isn't flying?" He sighed as the hexagon vanished, shaking his head before looking back to Nadar. "Can't fault a guy for trying can you?"

"I'm lost right now." Hachiman commented, trying to figure out everything that was going on.

"Oh good, it isn't just me." Lisbeth added in.

"So do you want to explain it to them, or shall I?" Nadar asked.

"Oh no, you seem to have figured out everything here, wouldn't want to step on your BIG moment." Heathcliff motioned to him, a mixture of annoyance and excitement in his voice.

"Nadar, what is going on?" Asuna asked, getting a single chuckle from him.

"Well my dear, it's quite simple really. You see our commander has been hiding something. Something so damning, that he was sure to keep it secret from everyone here-and my god I can't handle this forced drama." Nadar sighed as he put a hand to his head, not able to go through with the big reveal. "The guy's fucking Kayaba Akihiko."

"Kayaba!?" The entire room gasped in shock.

"Way to ruin the flare of that, but what else to expect from you." The now revealed Kayaba smirked, his voice going from the deep and inspiring tone of Heathcliff to the developer they all saw two years ago. "But could you humor me for a second Nadar? How did you figure me out? Or were you planning on just killing everyone until one failed to die?"

"Not gonna lie, I considered that second option." Nadar admitted, shrugging as he did. "But the truth? It was rather elementary, that recovery time you have in our duel got me thinking rapidly. It was too quick, impossible for anyone without assistance to do. Add in all those references you keep spouting and it just clicked after a week. You can't imagine how difficult it was to keep that down while setting up this plan."

"So you planted the idea of hiring the criminals to find a way to reveal me." Heathcliff smirked. "My god, you've really outdone yourself this… wait, YOU GET MY REFERENCES!? I thought it was just dumb luck you said half those back!"

"I mean, yeah." Nadar responded, taken back by Kayaba's excitement. "I just sort of figured you were a movie buff and I-"

"Don't be afraid. I won't tell." Heathcliff interrupted, getting a smirk from Nadar.

"Oh that's… She Done Him Wrong!"

"The, uh, stuff dreams are made of!"

"The Maltese Falcon, 1941!"

"Love means you never have to say sorry!"

"Oh, getting tricky are ya?" Nadar grinned, the whole interaction shocking everyone. "While that phrase is mostly remembered for Oliver saying it in Love Story, Jenny was actually the first one to say it."

"Hot damn, you're the real deal." Kayaba said in momentary shock, chuckling soon after in a bitter sense. "Of course, out of everyone here it was you that understood them all. Call it weird, but I always felt some form of kinship with you. You've dealt with these idiots for even longer than I did, and all that time you spent it watching them make countless stupid mistakes."

"Well I had to toss a penny in sometimes, we wouldn't have made it far without a few suicidal plays." Nadar responded, smiling as Kirito and Sachi moved back towards him. "Although I'll be honest, I was expecting Kirito to say that more after a big reveal of being a megalomaniac waiting to reveal himself. Kinda weird to hear that from you of all people."

"Oh don't get me wrong. That WINNING personality of yours and your general refusal to either ruin or complicate my plans have been, let's call it, spiritually taxing." The developer explained, strain in his voice at the end before returning to normal. "But that doesn't mean I don't respect the hell out of you as a player. Someone who could outthink murders at their own game and even catch me off guard with all my extra safety features to boot."

"But then that makes me start to think." He continued. "During every boss fight, you made up plans on the fly like it was nothing. It made me wonder why you preferred to be a follower to Kirito rather than forming your own guild. With the skill and intellect you've shown, you could've been leading armies. Clear floor after floor as the Great savior of Aincrad."

"Eh, it's too much work for me to bother with. Watching the chaos and seeing you fumble around with the rejects here was far more entertaining." Nadar admitted.

"Nadar, are you okay?" Sachi asked. "I thought you'd want nothing more than to kill him. Why are you still acting like he's Heathcliff."

"Probably because he isn't as stupid as most people think." Kayaba responded for him, motioning to the remaining Assault team. "I mean, I thought it'd be a blast to take over here and have some fun being a commander since no one else would. And I gotta tell ya, that was easily the worst mistake in my entire life!" He chuckled before thinking for a second, correcting himself. "Well maybe second."

"Die Kayaba!" Franklin shouted as he lunged at the man with his sword, Kayaba reacting quickly and opening his menu. The second he did, Franklin was suddenly paralyzed and fell to the ground, unable to move.

"That, that's why I didn't attack him." Nadar whispered to Sachi.

"See this? This is the perfect little microcosm of the past two years." He stated, not even fazed by the attack on him. "This, fucking mastermind here, saw one of the most dangerous assassins try the same thing, to no effect! But by some Herculean leaping logic, he thought it'd all work out if he did it!"

"Now I trust all of you have enough pattern recognition not to follow in this man's footsteps… wait, no. Goldfish! I'm thinking of goldfish! Yeah, better play it safe." Kayaba then began to tap rapidly on his menu, and one after the other each player was falling paralyzed. By the end of it only Kirito and Nadar were left unaffected, the two catching Sachi and Asuna before they fell.

"There we go, everyone comfortable?" The man asked, feeling satisfied with what he's done.

"I fell at a weird angle and now my foot's over my head and I don't think it's supposed to be there." Johnny Black admitted.

"Fantastic." Kayaba responded. "Now before I leave you all to your own devices, I have something I wish to tell you. Something every developer has wanted to say to their audience." He then coughed into his hand, preparing himself for what he's been holding in for two years. "FUCK! All yall!"

"Oh, we're going the EA route after all." Hachiman commented, lying on his stomach with a nervous expression.

"Do you have any idea what it's been like trying to lead you people!? You ignore half of my strategies, you adamantly refuse to work together! And then you blame ME, for all of your problems!"

"To be fair sir, you are responsible for at least a few of them." One of the players commented.

"Ah, fair point and I understand. But hear me out on this, counter argument." In a scream of pain and shatter, the player vanished without a trace. "You're dead. HA!"

He then sighed as he looked down, shaking his head in disappointment. "You know, I tired. Lord, knows, I tried. But there's just no helping you people. It's like you crave death, but no! Not just any death, you fuckers seem to have a pool going to see who can die in the dumbest, most avoidable way possible! Do you know how many of you died screaming Leroy Jenkins? More than 0, which as far as I'm concerned, is reason enough to exterminate the species!"

"At least they're brave enough to fight without freaking cheat codes!"

"See this is what I'm talking about." Kayaba commented as he turned to the player who spoke up. "Which of you idiots missed what I did to the last-" His words then died in his throat instantly, seeing Nadar glare at him as he held Asuna. He then slammed his shield down, grinning in astonishment as he did. "Well there's a plot twist. Nadar are you, defending these people?"

"Oh don't get me wrong, half of the ones still alive are complete idiots with no redeeming qualities. And then there's Black who's just an idiot."

"Say that again when I can move ya bastard!" The assassin shouted out, getting ignored by Nadar as he continued.

"But even then, I have to give them all credit for them actually coming to these raids. They know they could die at any minute, but they still fight. Which is a lot more than I can say about the likes of you."

"Oh really?" Kayaba grinned. "And what exactly can you say about me?"

"Oh, look at me! I'm Akihiko Kayaba! I have an invincible shield that can block any attack and a super powerful sword that can cut through anything, even Vibranium because I'm so awesome and totally not a Gary Stu!" Nadar said with a complete straight face, getting Kayaba to stare at him with a mixture of disappointment and annoyance.

"Truly, you are the voice of a generation." He sighed. "Anywho, it's about time I bid all of you glorious gems of humanity, adduce. And not to worry, I won't kill all of you despite how easy it would be. I'll just wait at the Ruby Palace for all of you to make your way up. I'm sure you can do it. Well mostly, maybe ten of you will be left to challenge me."

"Wait!" Kirito shouted out to him, getting the attention of the game's creator. "Why bother waiting Kayaba, let's settle things here."

"Wait, are YOU challenging me?" Kayaba asked with a smirk. "My, my Kirito, that's rather grown up of you, rather than sick your attack dog on me like you do most of your problems."

"This matters too much to me." Kirito admitted, looking down to Sachi and Yui. "I have to do this. There's no guarantee we'll make it otherwise."

"I… understand." Sachi responded, smiling up to him. "You've always managed to pull through, I trust you to beat him."

"Yo were given Dual-Wielding daddy, you're the only person who can." Yui added in, getting a smile from Kirito.

"Thanks."

"Sorry buddy." The three were caught off guard when Nadar stabbed Johnny Black's second knife into Kirito's shoulder, catching him before laying him next to them as he was paralyzed. "But I called first dibs."

"Oh, so now you want a piece?" Kayaba questioned. "What happened to that caution when it came to me a minute ago. Did you already forgot how our last match went, or do you just not care?"

"Oh I'm well aware of how it went. But that's why this time it'll be different." Nadar countered. "This duel, no bullshit admin protection or assistance. And this time, we'll give everything we got. A fight to the death, nothing left off the table. And if you die, everyone gets out and you throw out this dumpster fire game."

"See that there, that's why I'm going to miss you when you're dead." Kayaba admitted. "That "I know I'm going to die" attitude, but saying fuck it and going ahead anyways. I can't deny, it's probably your most charming characteristic."

"I wouldn't think so." Nadar said as he reached for his axe, pulling it off his back and holding it with one hand.

 _'This is your chance Nadar, just say it now to get it out of the way.'_ He thought to himself, steeling himself and turning to everyone.

"Hey, Klein?" He spoke out to the samurai. "Thanks for helping me back then. I didn't deserve it, but you stuck you and your entire guild in danger to help me. And it meant a lot to me."

Hearing his confession, the samurai's eyes widened in realization at Nadar's expectation for the duel and clenched his fists as he glared at him. "No, don't you dare go saying that. Don't go talking like that, not until we've met back in the real world and you're buying me dinner!"

"Sure thing." Nadar chuckled, turning to Agil next. "Agil, you put up with a lot of my shit over the past two years, and you took it in stride. I don't think you ever complained and just treated me like anyone else. And I'm grateful that you were willing to do business with me. So thanks, you're probably the most positive adult figure I've ever had."

"Sili, I'm sorry for abandoning you back on the first floor." He continued. "I should've been there for you, even if I didn't know who you were. It was wrong to leave you and I've… always regretted it."

"Liz, sorry I shot you down when you confessed." He rubbed the back of his head next. "It just didn't feel right to accept someone's feelings the day after meeting them. And I'm glad we've been able to become friends despite that bump."

He then looked over to Hachiman, guilt on his face as he did. "I shouldn't have ever let you walk away from the guild. You were suffering just like me and I should've done something to let you know I didn't blame you. You're my friend and I can't say sorry enough for letting you go that easily."

He then looked down to Sachi, smiling as he did. "It's hard to believe. Just over a year ago you were a scared girl hiding bellow a bridge to avoid going out hunting. And now, you faced down a boss that killed 29 players without hesitation. I'm proud of you, and I know you have so much more potential."

Afterwards, he looked to Asuna, his shoulders relaxing as he did. "Asuna, there's not a lot I can say that you haven't heard. But I guess all I can say is… thank you. For choosing me and helping me move on from what I've done."

And finally, his eyes met Kirito's, the two silent for a minute before he spoke up. "You were always a brother to me, I want you to know that. There wasn't a single enemy we've come across where I thought you'd lose to. In fact, I bet you could've gotten this far as just a solo player if I didn't show up. The system gave you Dual-Wielding, and I can say without doubt that it chose right."

"Nadar…" Kirito muttered before narrowing his eyes, staring up to him with heated determination. "You're going to win. I know it."

That caused Nadar to smirk, letting out a few chuckles before turning back to Kayaba. "Thanks man, the encouragement beats all the constant doubt you guys give me."

"So are you done with your farewell talk?" Kayaba asked, pulling his shield up and readying himself.

"One thing Kayaba." Nadar interrupted. "Down on floor 1, there's an orphanage full of kids who don't deserve to be put in this death game. If I die, and this game is forced to continue, then at least let free them. They shouldn't have to worry about dying in here."

"Oh… damn that's actually, really noble of you." Kayaba admitted, surprised by his request. "Tell you what, make it interesting enough and I'll do it. No strings attached and they can go back to their normal lives."

"The chance is all I ask." Nadar said, the whole cave going silent as they stood across from one another. The tension was once again hitting its peak, neither moving a muscle as they watched each other. As they did, Nadar took one last calming breath, before exhaling out steam as his body began to heat up.

"Marauder's Malice: Full Force!" In an explosion of steam and red light, Nadar's amplification skill activated. It wasn't as intense as the battle with the Gleam Eyes, but everyone knew that would change as the battle went on.

Lunging forward, Nadar cleared the whole distance between them instantly, Kayaba reacting calmly and jabbing his sword out at him. The executioner allowed the attack to connect, his axe going out and striking against his shield with increased pressure. Both were forced back by the attacks, but instantly recovered a second later.

Nadar then rushed forward and began to send countless attacks at Kayaba, his axe slowly building up power with each attack. After parrying one of his swings, Kayaba swung his sword across Nadar's chest, who didn't even flinch as he stepped forward between the creator and his shield.

With him unable to protect himself, Nadar swung his fist with power and struck him across his cheek. The impact sent Kayaba skidding back, blocking Nadar's follow up attack moments before it landed. Seeing him ready another swing of his sword, Nadar moved his arm and caught the blade in his palm, grabbing the side of his shield and opening him up to a knee to his chest.

The impact staggered Kayaba, but because of Nadar's hold on him he couldn't escape. But rather than take the next attack he activated a skill on his shield and broke free from his grasp, punching forward and striking Nadar's gut with the edge of his shield. Nadar lost the grip of his sword and quickly maneuvering his axe to knock his next shield attack away and getting cut across his face by his sword.

As the wounds on him healed, Nadar felt his body twitch in agony as Full Force was beginning to increase in power. Now with the steam releasing quicker, his strength was even higher and allowed him to punch Kayaba's shield with enough force to knock him back.

As the executioner jumped to swing his axe down, the creator turned to his side and parried the blow, attempting to pierce his side. Nadar predicted the move and released his axe, letting it flip from the impact and block the sword at the last second. Ducking underneath it, he swiped Kayaba's sword away with his right hand while grabbing his axe with his left, swinging it and striking across the creator's shield.

Pressing forward, Nadar's axe glowed as bright as it could, the executioner glaring in rage at the creator as he used his shield to vault over him. When he landed on the ground and turned, Kayaba blocked his axe with his sword and grinded his blade across it, slashing Nadar's face again and sending him crashing back.

Nadar rolled around twice before landing on his feet and running back after him, feinting his axe to punch Kayaba in the gut. With his strength high enough, not even Kayaba's poise was able to handle the strike and slide on his back, stopping just a foot away from the edge. As he got back up, Nadar swung his axe with both hands right at him, just barely stopping the attack with his sword.

Striking him with his shield, Kayaba pressed forward and swung twice with his sword, Nadar managing to block the strikes while being pressed back. When the creator aimed low and cut his stomach, Nadar saw his health reach 5%, forcing him to retreat back. When Kayaba moved to chase, Nadar readied a single skill in his axe, fire bursting from the blade as he swung it.

"This is it Kayaba! My endgame!" He shouted as Kayaba raised his shield, the two forces about to meet in a climatic final strike. Nadar's axe struck with an impossible amount of force, wind and fire exploding out in every direction. However, the burst went out instantly, Nadar's axe shattering at where it struck Kayaba's shield.

"N-No way." Lisbeth gasped as she saw her creation break, the durability not managing to hold up compared to Kayaba's shield. "Can anything break that?"

"Nadar!"

"Well it's bee fun Nadar, but it's game over!" Kayaba smirked as he readied his sword, but was interrupted as Nadar gripped his broke axe.

"I'm not done yet!" Slamming the edge of the pole forward, Nadar dug the axe handle in as much as he could. Each inch he gained the weapon broke apart, but he was still dealing connection damage to the shield. Eventually his palm struck the shield and caused Kayaba to take a step back.

Rearing his left fist back, Nadar readied his final attack, steam and energy forming around his arm like it had against the Gleam Eyes. He was putting everything on the line, and was aiming to finish his mission with this last punch.

Kayaba grinned as he saw Nadar's attack, excitement filling him as he readied his sword. "You've truly mastered that Unique Skill Nadar, even after only having three opportunities to use it! It's no surprise you earned the skill! However…" Nadar was then caught off guard as when he threw his fist forward, Kayaba's sword managed to overpower his attack and cut through his elbow, dismembering the executioner. "You forgot I'm God here."

"Nadar no!"

"This wasn't going to happen any other way." Kayaba finished, sounding confident as he ran his blade through Nadar's chest. The executioner was stunned as he felt the blade go right through him, Full Force disappearing as his attack failed to connect.

Looking down at where the blade entered him, Nadar could only watch as his health plummeted down like it was in free fall. 4% turned to 3%, and to 2% when it eventually hit 1% before vanishing completely.

His body then began to glow blue, the signal for his death coming as it did for all players before him. As he closed his eyes to accept his fate, a ghost of a voice spoke into his ears.

 _"Don't give up yet. You can't let him have the last hit."_ Hearing Serana's voice caused Nadar's eyes to open wide, the echoes of the past beginning to fill his mind.

 _"You have to win this, for everyone who can't."_

 _"You really think that I'll survive?"_

 _"And I still want to get stronger!"_

 _"I... I'm sorry…"_

 _"And some day, you'll understand too."_

 _"You have something too!"_

 _"I promise you that you'll never be alone again."_

"God? You're joking right?" Nadar gritted through his teeth, clenching his fist as he glared up to Kayaba.

"What?" The creator stared in shock as Nadar was slowly changing colors, his blue hue turning red as he was somehow holding together.

"You can't even play a tank right. How could you ever think of being God?" Nadar continued as he reared his fist back, steam forming around it before exploding into energy. "Sarah was a hundred times a better tank than you, because she knew how to be one. And I'll teach you!"

Digging his feet into the ground, Nadar's transparent form began to glitch as his eyes glowed red, a wide grin forming as he continued to fight against the system. "Step 1. Plant your feet. Step 2. Grit your teeth." The energy began to condense and form a layer of protection around his arm, his fist clenched as tight as possible.

"Step 3. Take the hit. And Step 4…" He then threw his fist forward, Kayaba snapping out of his shock to block with his shield as his fist connected. "HIT! BACK! HARDER!" When his fist connected, an explosion of dust and energy shot out, the light blinding everyone from being able to see what was going on. The bright flare went on for almost a minute before dying down, allowing everyone to stare in shock what had happened.

Kayaba stood at the other end of the platform, his feet just inches away from the edge as his shield was in critical condition with dozens of cracks. Even his armor suffered damage from the attack, pieces chipping off as he stood in utter shock. Meanwhile Nadar stood where he was, his form glitching sporadically as his head hung down. Both of his arms were gone now, and he lacked the strength to hold on any longer.

Looking over to Kirito, Nadar flashed him a single smile and nodded his head before closing his eyes. In the blink of an eye, Nadar's avatar shattered into red shards, his death now without question.

"No… Nadar…" Hachiman whispered as he stared in horror as Nadar's fragments slowly touched the ground, each disappearing upon contact.

"Bro…" Silica began to cry as she looked into the ground, unable to look at her brother's fate.

"Nadar!" Both Asuna and Sachi cried out.

Meanwhile, Kirito could only stare as memories began to flash through his mind. From when he first met the executioner to their last fight. And among them, a memory stood out, a recent one that was burned into his brain.

 _"It has the name Redeemer for a reason."_

 _'You… you planned this from the start, didn't you?'_ Kirito thought as he tried to push himself up, getting Yui's attention.

"Daddy?"

"Yui, deactivate my paralysis." He ordered, knowing the girl's admin privileges would allow her to.

"But daddy-"

"For your uncle." He interrupted, surprising her. "Please."

She stared at him for a second, but nodded as she opened her menu and selected his username, deactivating his paralysis and allowing him to rip the dagger out of him.

"After all this, two years dedicating himself to taking me down. And he dies just short of his goal." Kayaba began to speak, not noticing the Black Swordsman get up. "Isn't that just a kick in the face?"

"You… bastard…" Kirito muttered as he grabbed Guilty Thorn from the ground.

"What the?" The creator was caught off guard as he saw Kirito up, pulling his shield up as Kirito threw his sword at him.

"You bastard!" Picking up his Elucidator, the Black Swordsman ran headfirst at Kayaba, opening his menu and selecting Redeemer within a second. By the time Kayaba, deflected the thrown sword away, Kirito was right in front of him, reaching back and unsheathing Redeemer and slashing it against his shield. The blade was glowing bright white, the light making it impossible to even see the metal as it reflected any light off it.

"Oh okay, so we're doing this now!" Kayaba responded as he slashed out at Kirito, the swordsman blocking it with his Elucidator and pushing the blade over his head. He'd the quickly deliver three strikes in a row, both his blades glowing blue as he activated a skill.

"Starburst Stream!" He shouted, getting four more attacks off before Kayaba pushed him back, allowing him room to move away from the edge.

"Try all you want Kirito, but you won't beat me like that!" Kayaba taunted as Kirito stopped himself, running forward and slashing down at his shield. The creator parried the attack, readying his sword to strike before getting surprised again.

Sachi was now by Kirito's side, tears escaping her eyes as she blocked Kayaba's attack. "I… won't let you take him!" She then swung with a Strength skill, forcing Kayaba to block her with his own sword, barely managing before moving around her.

"I don't know how you two got up, but it doesn't matter." He said as he slashed her back, knocking her away and sending her health into the red.

"Sachi!" Kirito shouted before attacking Kayaba, who continued to block each attack. As he was about to retaliate, he was sent skidding back as Klein and Hachiman shot ahead of Kirito, their combined strength off setting him.

"How are you all getting up!?" Kayaba demanded as he was forced to block attacks from all three at once. His shield was able to cover him, but with its condition as damaged as it was he couldn't risk taking so many attacks at once. So when he activated his shield skill, all three were stunned, Kirito only avoiding Kayaba's sword as Agil grabbed him and swung his axe in return. He was able to stop the attack, but Klein and Hachiman were sent flying back, their health going into the red.

"Even you!?" Kayaba spat as Agil released Kirito and swung, the two's weapons colliding.

"You only have a few more chances Kirito!" Agil shouted as Kayaba used his shield to knock Agil's axe away, slashing across his chest and sending him back. "Finish your move!"

"On it!" Kirito shouted as he collided against Kayaba again, his speed picking up more as he slashed relentlessly at him. "Two years of hell! I won't let it continue any further!"

"Then try and take me down hero!" Kayaba responded as he pushed against Kirito, reposting him and preparing his sword. He was interrupted as Pina flew in his face, scratching at him before flying away. When his eyes were freed Silica was swinging her dagger, getting blocked by his sword. He didn't even respond to her as he swung his shield and knocked her away, eliciting a pained cry from her.

"Silica!" Kirito growled as he prepared the final ten swings of his combo. Kayaba the whole time was counting each hit, waiting as he felt number 49 strike against him. When Kirito reared Redeemer back for the final attack, Kayaba's sword glowed to life, the Black Swordsman realizing the attack was coming too quick.

"This is the end of the line, Kirito!" As the attack was just inches away from his face, Kirito was saved as Asuna blew past the pair with an Agility skill, the attack shattering Kayaba's sword.

"Finish this!" She yelled back to him, Kirito tightening his hold on his sword.

"It ends here!" Kirito screamed, his eyes glowing yellow as the blade approached Kayaba's shield. As it was about to strike, Kayaba saw Nadar's ghostly figure grab ahold of Kirito's sword along with him, the two screaming with fury in their eyes. And as the blade shattered his shield and stabbed through his arm and chest, all he could do was smile in amusement.

"Good… game…" Kayaba said weakly before he shattered, Nadar's ghost disappearing at the same time and leaving Kirito to stand alone in his finished posture.

"Is it… over?" He asked weakly, dropping his swords and falling to his knees as he was overcome by exhaustion.

Before he could fall down further, Sachi wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, kneeling next to him as she cried. "Yes… it's all over. It's finally over."

Kirito then closed his eyes as he began to cry, the two comforting each other as they mourned the loss of their brother. _'We did it.'_ He thought as he looked down to Redeemer, the blade lying flat on the ground.

At the same time, Asuna looked up, seeing the shards of Kayaba escape the cave before tears began to escape her eyes as well. _'You did it Nadar. We all… we made it.'_

 **On November 6, at 2:55, the game has been cleared. Repeat, the game has been cleared.**

As the announcement was heard across all of Aincrad, players all began to be logged out, vanishing one by one from the nightmare game they were in. Within the Assault team, the last one left to be teleported was Kirito, who opened his eyes one last time to look up to smile. "Thank you." He then disappeared in a bright light, leaving just the two swords on the ground in the cave.

* * *

What felt like minutes for Nadar was merely seconds, as he opened his eyes to see a familiar dawning sky. Looking down, he saw he was standing on a clear platform far from Aincrad, the floating castle still visible to him.

Patting across his body, he was able to confirm on the sensation that his avatar was still in the game. But even then, he felt that there was something wrong with the sensation. And when he opened his menu to see his final countdown at 62%, he was able to put together that he was waiting for his death.

 _'I guess this means you did it Kirito.'_ He thought to himself, staring at Aincrad as the very bottom of the castle begin to crumble. _'You beat Kayaba and now everyone's being freed. You did good.'_

"So, not even a celebratory laugh?" Nadar's attention was brought to his right, seeing the true form of Kayaba stare down to the crumbling castle with a disappointed stare. "Heeeeey."

"So, Kirito kicked your ass, huh?" Nadar asked.

"More like Kirito and your whole group of buddies getting freed from my admin paralysis because of a rogue program I failed to account for." He explained. "All that and I'm out thought by a punk who broke my equipment before dying. You're really something Nadar, I can't help but say I'm impressed."

"Okay, this feels weird, especially me saying it of all people, but are you okay?" Nadar questioned, raising an eyebrow to the game creator. "I mean, I know you were beat, but you sound horrible."

"Wha, me? Nooooo, why would I be upset?" Kayaba asked back. "I'm just watching my life's work collapse in front of my eyes, thinking about how my business is ruined and, let's face it, I'm probably the most wanted person on the PLANET!"

"Oh… yeah that'd do it." Nadar relented, putting his hands in his pockets as he looked back to Aincrad, seeing his home crumble into the abyss.

The two stood in silent for another minute, both just looking with a mix of sorrow and envy before Kayaba spoke up again. "So are you going to ask me?"

"Ask you what?"

"Why I did it?"

"I… think I have an idea or two." Nadar responded. "Sponsors were getting upset the game wasn't coming out quick enough, and you developed something you shouldn't and fucked up everything?"

"That's… pretty accurate." Kayaba stated. "How did you guess that?"

"Was one of those people a Neshi Ito?" Nadar asked, getting a nod from Kayaba. "Fucking figures it'd be him."

"Personal relation?"

"Aside from him being the absolute bane of my existence that only got me this game to try and get me on his good side?" Nadar spoke before shrugging. "Yeah, he's my old man. And I'd sooner believe he had something to do with this than you going out of your way to ruin everyone's lives after how confused you seemed to be back on day 1."

"Wow, I do not see the relation at all." The creator said, looking at Nadar from head to toe. "You look nothing like him, considering you look more foreign."

"Mother's side." Nadar explained. "Can't say if I got everything from her, I never met her. Died during childbirth. Dad never talked about her and it basically ends there."

"And suddenly two years worth of headaches makes sense." Kayaba chuckled. He then sighed as he looked up, seeing a flock of birds fly by. "You know, I'm surprised you aren't trying to kill me right now. Probably get some of that built up anger that I created."

"I should, and I really want to." Nadar admitted. "But for the life of me I just can't bring myself to. For two years all I wanted to do was kill you, but now that we're here, with me waiting for my impending doom, I just don't have the energy to do it. Even if you're giving me borrowed time."

"What makes you say that?"

Nadar then pulled his menu and showed it to Kayaba, revealing he was at 70%. "If you weren't keeping me alive for a bit longer, I would have my brain fried by now."

"Alright fine, I just didn't want to go out alone and I wanted to see this through." He relented. "Happy?"

"Not really." Nadar said. "I finally get my life back on track and I'm going to die with the guy who sent my mind further down the rabbit hole of insanity. But I guess it's good enough." He admitted. "Not going to lie, I'm scared of dying alone too, so we'll call this little moment even."

"That's what your afraid of?"

"One of the things. Although it's probably better than dealing with my dad anymore."

"Huh, learn something new every day." Kayaba shrugged, opening his menu and messing with it before closing it. "Well, it looks like my time's starting to come, got about 20 seconds before the brain goes to juice. I'd say it's been fun, but I think we both just want this nightmare to be over."

"Amen to that."

"Oh, and one last one for the road." Kayaba mentioned, before saying one last thing. "But you don't understand, Osgood! Oh… I'm a man."

Nadar smiled faintly as he looked over to Kayaba, seeing his figure slowly blow away into the wind. "Jerry played by Jack Lemmon, Some Like It Hot, 1959."

"Thank you. That'll at least make it somewhat decent going on. Peace!" And in one last gust of wind, Kayaba was gone from sight, leaving Nadar alone to stare as Aincrad fell to pieces.

"Prick." He chuckled one last time, not even surprising himself as his mind drifted to think of Asuna. "I'm sorry Asuna, guess I am going to be alone one last time. But don't worry, at least it was on my terms."

"Nadar?" The executioner's eyes then widened in shock as he heard Asuna's voice, turning to see the girl standing across from him on the platform. He then recalled to when Kayaba opened his menu, putting together what he did.

 _'Kayaba you bastard.'_

"Hey Asuna, fancy meeting you here." He said, sounding his normal self as he motioned to Aincrad. "Care to take in the scenery with me?" Tears then began to form in the two's eyes as they lost control, Asuna running to him and wrapping him in a tight hug, afraid to let him go.

"You stupid! Stupid! Idiot!"

"I know, I'm sorry." The two cried as Nadar returned the hug, shaking as he could barely keep himself contained. "I just… I had to do what I thought was right."

"I know, and that's why I hate you sometimes." She said as she looked up to him. "Because once you have your mind set on something, you'll get it done. No matter how long it takes."

"Well, care to watch the finale of two years with me?" He asked as he looked over to Aincrad, the Lightning Flash turning to see that up to floor 80 was now crumbled. The two eventually found the strength to release each other, standing side by side as they watched Aincrad crumble into nothing.

When it reached floor 90, Asuna reached her hand out and grabbed a hold of Nadar's, surprising the executioner. "W-What are you doing?"

"I just want to hold your hand." Asuna begged, looking over to Nadar. "There are many sensations that I'll remember from our time here. But this… this is what I want to be the last we share."

"…Okay." Nadar relented, his cheeks dusted red as he looked down to her. "Asuna I… sorry if this seems strange and kinda cruel but, what's your name?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well it's just… I want to know the name of the girl I… that I fell in love with." Nadar admitted, looking away as he blushed.

Asuna shared his blush, but she smiled as she saw his embarrassed expression. "So you finally…"

"Sorry it took too long."

"No, it's okay." She said as she wiped her tears away. "I'm just glad you came to terms with it yourself. I understand the past two years have been horrible for you."

"More than that. But it's been the worst I've suffered in a long time." He responded, looking back to her. "So… you're name?"

"It's Asuna. Asuna Yuuki."

"Pft!" Nadar couldn't help but snort, ruining the moment between them. "Of course you fucking used your real name."

"What's so weird about that!?" Asuna asked, embarrassed at his laughter. "Are you telling me your name isn't Nadar?"

"No, god no! It's just a word that came to mind years ago and I just use it randomly in games!" He laughed, calming himself as Asuna looked at him in disapproval. "Okay, okay I'm sorry I'll stop laughing." He said, sighing as he felt the dull warmth from Asuna's hand. "My name's Asashi Ito. And I guess since it'd be weird if you didn't know, I turned 17 back in October."

"So you're actually younger than me." Asuna commented, smiling back to him. "I turned 17 back on September 30, almost a whole month before you."

"If I wasn't going to die you would've held that over me for the rest of our lives, wouldn't you?" He asked, getting a bittersweet laugh from her. The two then stared at each other, turning to each other and gently gripping their free hands together. "I'm sorry that we can't meet in the real world. Although I'm sure you would've been disappointed with what you saw."

"Of course I wouldn't." Asuna responded. "Because the Nadar I know and love I met in here. And after everything you've said about this reality being no different than our reality, I know that you wouldn't be different."

"Although I am a lot less violent." He admitted. "I don't exactly have the build to kick people's asses back in the real world. If you couldn't tell by looking at me."

The two then shared one last laugh before they closed their eyes, placing their foreheads together as they held each other. Nadar could feel Asuna's avatar begin to fade as the deletion process was reaching them.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

And with their confessions made, Nadar felt Asuna disappear from the world, looking to see the indescribably bright light reach and overtake him. He couldn't feel anything when it hit. Everything just suddenly erupted into light for him.

* * *

Just seconds after the light overtook him, darkness overtook Nadar and he felt a head splitting headache take over. Groaning, he reached up to rub his head, but felt smooth metal in return. It was then that he began to question how he could even feel a headache, or metal on his head for that metal.

And after what felt an eternity, the executioner opened his eyes, staring up to a white ceiling through a tinted visor. Reaching his other hand up, the boy soon realized that the object on his head was the NerveGear he put on two years ago, feeling the chipped paint of the VR equipment with his frail hands.

He looked bad going in, and while the two years weren't as bad for his body as it would be for others, he could feel the incredible weakness as his arms dropped down to his sides. He then came to the conclusion that he was in a hospital, feeling the bed sheets that covered him and faintly hearing the sounds of doctors and nurses outside his room.

And at once it all came crashing down on him, as he forced his hands up to take off the Nerve gear, long black hair with red stained on it. Placing it to his side, the boy cried as he looked up to the ceiling, a wave of relief flowing into him as he put together everything. He knew there was only one explanation for his miraculous survival, and as he smiled weakly, he weakly spoke out the first thing he could say to thank his savior.

"God… fucking… damn it… Kayaba…"

* * *

 **(A/N): And so, the end of an arc comes. Not gonna lie, this was surprisingly emotional for me to write, I was actually tearing a bit during the final fight. And that probably came as the idea "If I wanted to end Nadar's story here, it'd be a surprisingly content ending for of course, the story can't end yet, and i'm excited to start the next arc in this series. So i hope you enjoy, and peace!**


	23. Reality Check

"So, would I be correct in assuming that you're the player Nadar?" A man in a business suit asked Asashi, the boy sitting up in his hospital bed.

Only a day had passed since he woke up from the nightmare that was SAO, and since then he was forced to remain in his room. Nurses came by every few hours to check on him, but as far as he was aware he wasn't allowed visitors yet.

"Um, yes?" Asashi responded, feeling off put by the man since he walked in completely unannounced. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"There is actually. But, ah, where are my manners." The man said, holding his hand out to Asashi. "My name is Seijirou Kikuoka. I work for the Ministry of Internal Affair's Telecommunications Bureau, Advanced Network Division, Second Office. I deal with virtual security incidents. Currently I'm assigned as an investigator for the Sword Art Online Case Victims Rescue Force, meant to analyze and question players on their experiences within the game."

"Okay… what kind of questions?" Asashi asked cautiously, shaking the man's hand weakly while avoiding direct eye contact.

"You don't need to worry Asashi, or would you prefer Nadar for this?" Seijirou responded. "I understand you've used that name for the past two years, and I'd like to make this as painless for you as possible."

"Just… whatever you prefer." Asashi sighed, looking towards the window as Seijirou sat in the chair next to his bed.

"Very well then. So tell me Nadar, can you tell me of your experiences you encountered while in SAO? Specifically your experiences in the last month of the game."

"Why that time?"

"We were told by some of the players we interviewed that you were going through significant change. Not to mention the documentation that you fought two intense boss battles that impacted you deeply. One of which having said to been there for one of them."

"Wait, you talked to someone I knew?" Asashi asked as he looked back, relief on his face. "Can you tell me which one?"

"A man by the name of Andrew Gilbert Mills." Seijirou answered. "He claims to have known you to an extent, and was strangely surprised when we informed him of your survival."

"Andrew?" Asashi echoed, not recalling the name.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You'd know him by his username Agil."

"You saw Agil? Is he doing okay, any serious problems?"

"You can relax Nadar, your friend is alright, and even surprisingly active for how long he was in SAO." Seijirou explained, calming Asashi. "In fact, he insisted that he would be brought here to see you when he could. I allowed him, but under the circumstances that I speak to you first."

"Then I'll try and say everything I can. I'll warn you though, I probably will sound delirious to you when you hear all of it." Asashi then began to explain the last two months of SAO to the agent, detailing the situations regarding the battles against the Gleam Eyes and the Skull Reaper. Seijirou listened closely, taking notes on his table when he came to the discovery of Kayaba's identity.

"So you recruited assassins, all of which you apparently have no direct connection to, for something like that?" The agent asked, getting a nod from him.

"I couldn't rely too heavily on them, but I figured they'd be willing to help." Asashi said, being sure to avoid revealing that he knew them before SAO. He made a deal with them, and even if it'd be no skin off his back he was a man of his word.

"And after you discovered his identity, you fought him I assume?"

"Gave it my all, but I wasn't able to beat him in the end." Asashi said quietly, rubbing his chest as he thought of the fight. "I felt my conscious slipping, but I held on long enough to get one last hit on him. I weakened his equipment enough that Kirito could finish it, and the rest I'm sure Agil explained.

"Yes, he did." Seijirou nodded. "But it doesn't explain how you could've survived the microwave emitters."

"I think Kayaba stopped my NerveGear from going off." Asashi stated, shrugging as he did. "There's no other possible explanation for what happened."

"Yes, I suppose that is the only possibility." Seijirou agreed, finishing his typing before looking up to Asashi. "Well, that's all I need for now. We'll be meeting once a month for more sessions like this, but for now you're cleared."

"So… does that mean that I can see Agil?"

"That was the deal." The agent responded before standing up, walking to the door and opening it. "I've finished my session Mr. and Mrs. Mills, you can see him now." Seijirou then opened the door further and moved, giving space for the two to enter.

Andrew then rolled in on a wheelchair, Asashi not even needing to think twice about the man being Agil. And when Andrew saw Asashi, he couldn't help but grin. "Well as I live and breathe, they weren't lying when they said you were still kicking." He said as he wheeled up to Asashi's bed.

"Agil… I can't believe you're actually here." Asashi muttered, relief on his face as the man was in front of him. "How are you holding up?"

"Pretty good, all things considered." The man answered. "I should be asking you that, we all thought you died man. How'd you make it out?"

"Kayaba acted on a whim I think. He stalled my death to talk to and I think he stopped my NerveGear from frying me." Asashi then let his shoulders down as he smiled at Andrew. "I still can't believe you're here, shouldn't you be resting?"

"That's what I told him." A woman said as she walked in, getting the two's attention. "Sorry to interrupt, you're Nadar right? I'm Kathy, Andrew's wife. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Um… same." Asashi responded sheepishly, looking down as he did.

"Well, I guess under most cases I would've stayed at my hospital to recover. But when I heard the kid who risked everything to get us out was alive, I had to come." Andrew explained, rubbing the back of his head as he grinned. "Kathy wasn't happy, but I explained everything to her on the way so she at least understood."

"Really? You told her?" Asashi asked nervously, before looking over to Kathy. "What did he… say about me?"

"Well, the first thing I remember him saying you had a bit of an anger problem." That caused Asashi's head to hang in shame, knowing that was the understatement of the year. "But he also said that you were a good person deep down. He brought up the times you saved people and worked hard to make sure they all got out of SAO." She then smiled as she placed a hand on Andrew's shoulder, looking down to him with humor. "That even with all his ridiculous prices and bargaining practices you dealt with him. Something only a few desperate players were willing to do."

"Me, deal with you?" Asashi questioned, confused at the idea. He recalls most of his interactions with Agil being him either insulting to calling out the merchant. He felt that if anything, Agil was the one who had dealt with HIM for the full two years. That's how everyone else seemed to feel in regards to the executioner.

"Well I mean, come on man. 500 col for a single health potion and over 1500 for a crystal. And it isn't like you would only buy a few since you bought for Kirito and the others." Agil brought up. "Everyone else tried to bargain with me, but you just accepted it and went on. It's not like you were that bad to me or anything."

"But I insulted you almost constantly." Asashi brought up, gripping his sheets as he looked down in shame. "I… I treated you and everyone horribly, I was a burden because I just made things worse for people."

"Man is this how you actually feel?" Andrew asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You couldn't imagine how much you did for everyone back in SAO. And not the whole challenging Kayaba thing. You just being there, fighting the bosses, dealing with criminals, even just accepting my prices took steps to saving players from getting killed."

Asashi looked up to Andrew surprised, the man smiling as he returned the stare. "You think acting cold was something wrong and that it hurt more people. But now that I've met you, I know it just shows how much you wanted them to be better. You were pushing them, challenging them to get stronger and faster. So that one day if you somehow lost, there'd be someone to take your place. I know Sachi understood this."

"You give me too much credit." Asashi smiled, looking down as he relaxed. "But I'm serious, I felt like you were the one dealing with me for our time in SAO. You never let what I say get to you and even helped out when I asked. We wouldn't have saved Schmitt and the others if you didn't help."

"Ah, it was nothing." Andrew waved off.

"Are you waiting for your parents Nadar?" Kathy asked. "I'm sure your anxious to see them again."

"Yeah, that's actually something I was wondering." Andrew added in. "I was wondering if I'd meet your old man. I was always curious what kind of man would raise a kid like you."

"…I don't want to see him." Asashi admitted, surprising the two adults while Seijirou seemed to understand.

"Kid, you can't be serious." Andrew stated. "If you had issues I'd understand a bit, but you've been gone for two years. They must be dying to see you again."

"If he was in that much of a hurry to see me, he would've been here before you." Asashi said. "He's nothing but business, I bet he doesn't even care that the other SAO players are waking up. He won't show any interest until I am, but it isn't to make sure I'm okay."

"What about your mother?" Kathy asked.

"She died a long time ago." He revealed, looking away as he did.

"Oh man, kid I'm sorry." Andrew said. "I didn't know."

"It's okay, I only told one person about it anyways so it doesn't hurt that you didn't know." Asashi's eyes then widened as he remembered Asuna, looking back to Andrew. "Wait Agil, have you heard anything about Asuna and the others!?"

"Whoa, calm down." Andrew responded as he kept a hold of Asashi. "I'm sorry but I haven't. Mr. Kikuoka only told me about you so that's how I knew you were okay. I haven't heard anything about Asuna, Kirito or the others."

Nadar then looked over to Seijirou, desperation on his face. "Do you know where any of them are? Please, I need to know."

"Let me see." Seijirou said as he went back to his tablet, looking through the names he has listed for the SAO survivors. "I have both Asuna and Kirito on my list, but there's a bit of a problem with them. But before that, is there anyone else you have in mind? I should have everyone's usernames so finding their actual names won't be a problem."

"There's Sachi, Silica, Hachiman, Klein and Lisbeth." Asashi answered, watching nervously as Seijirou looked through the list of usernames.

After typing on it for a minute, he had created his own individual list of the players requested. "There, that should be all of them. And as far as what's listed the five of them are awake and recovering."

"Thank god…" Asashi smiled before realizing Seijirou's words, looking up to him. "Wait, what do you mean by the five of them?"

"That… is the problem that I was referring to."

* * *

"But… why?" Asashi choked as he was in a wheelchair, Seijirou having pushed than driven them to the hospital Asuna was in. He had tears in his eyes as he saw the girl still connected to the NerveGear, having not woken up since SAO's completion.

"We are unaware as to why." Seijirou admitted, standing behind Asashi as he looked hopelessly at Asuna's frail body. "All we know is that she and 100 other players are still in the same comatose state as when they were in Sword Art Online, Kazuto Kirigaya, Kirito as you know him, included among them. That is why me and other investigators are talking to all of the survivors. We're hoping that somewhere in their experiences they can recall to hopefully explain this. But as far as we're aware, they've shown no signs of waking up soon. I'm sorry, Nadar."

"Why… why did it have to be you?" Asashi asked through his tears as he lowered his head, placing his forehead on the bed railing. "You were supposed to be free, I promised I'd get you out and now you're…" He then began to shake, crying as he closed his eyes in shame. "Why are you still stuck while I'm not? I shouldn't even be alive, you should be out here free, not me!"

"I take it you two were close." Seijirou questioned, although it sounded much more that he knew. "I am truly sorry, I promise that we'll get to the bottom of this as soon as possible."

"I sacrificed my life so that she and everyone else could get out of that hell. So why them and not me?" Asashi asked, looking up to Asuna's face. "Asuna… I'm sorry… it's all my fault; I know it has to be. I let you too close and now, now I don't know what to do."

"It isn't your fault Nadar." The agent responded, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I promise we'll get to the bottom of this and we'll free them."

"You couldn't do anything for two years, what hope do they have when you don't know what's wrong?" Asashi whispered to himself, knowing deep down there was nothing that could be done. And it did nothing more but cause more tears to fall, his guilt piling up over Asuna's fate.

* * *

"This is where Saizo Nakamura is." Seijirou said as he pushed Asashi to the forth door on the right of the hall. After the boy cried all he could, the agent thought it'd be for the best to get him out and find the others he requested. The closest one from where they were was Hachiman, who was being kept a few miles away.

"Thank you." Asashi said quietly, looking miserable in the chair. "You didn't have to do all this. I realize I'm probably cutting into a lot of your interviews."

"No, I'm only assigned a few players. You were among them and as I can tell the only one that was on the Assault Team as you called it." Seijirou responded, waving his hand dismissively. "And since we'll be getting to know each other over the next couple months, I figured doing this favor wouldn't be a problem."

"If you say so." The boy muttered before taking a calming breath as he closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was giving his normal smile, suppressing his pain like it was second nature. He then reached out, knocking on the door lightly. The front desk said that there was a visitor for him, so he didn't want to interrupt anything.

A girl answered the door in response. By looking at her, Asashi knew she was around his age, maybe a year or two older but not much more. She was wearing a regular shirt and shorts, her build appearing that also of the average girl in Japan. She had short dark brown hair and blue eyes, the finishing touch on her appearance a pair of glasses.

She looked down to Asashi in confusion before looking to Seijirou. "Hi… are you here to see Saizo?"

"Yes, but we can come back later if that's okay." Asashi said, not wanting to be rude. "It's just I knew… Saizo?" He asked back to Seijirou, getting a nod to let him know he said it right. "I knew Saizo in SAO and I wanted to check on him."

The girl looked down to Asashi with an almost measuring gaze, making him feel uncomfortable before looking back in the room. "Saizo, did you know anyone around our age with black hair?"

"A few." Asashi's shoulders rested calmly as he recognized the voice of the samurai lancer. "Although the one I knew the most was Kirito. Why, did he show up?"

"Not quite." Asashi spoke up, and almost instantly the room was quiet.

"…Sara, please let them in." When the girl opened the door for them to enter, Asashi was rolled in to see Saizo on his bed, staring in shock at him. "Is that… is that you Nadar?"

"In the not virtual flesh." Asashi smiled as he was rolled right next to Saizo's bed. He then chuckled as Saizo's jaw dropped, shocked at seeing the former executioner. "What's the matter? You look like you've seen a gh-!" Asashi was cut off guard as Saizo reached an arm over and pulled him into a hug, flinching at the contact.

"You idiot, what the hell were you thinking?" Saizo asked as he shook, keeping a hold on Asashi like he was going to vanish.

"I knew if I gave it my all that'd give you guys an opening. Sorry if I scared you."

"You better be, you jerk." Saizo chuckled as the two separated, looking over to Sara who was appeared confused. "Sara, this is Nadar, the guy I was telling you about."

"You mean the dangerous executioner with anger issues?" Sara asked, getting a glance from Asashi.

"Is that what everyone remembers me for?"

"It was something he brought up." Sara admitted. "I'm sorry, please don't take this the wrong way but… you're not quite I was expecting from the description Saizo gave me."

"Don't worry, I don't blame you." Asashi chuckled. "I realize the real me doesn't broadcast anything special. But I guess I should introduce myself better now. I'm Asashi. I'm glad to make you're acquaintance Sara, Hachiman talked about you while we were in SAO."

"Are you really sure this is the same Nadar?" Sara asked Saizo. "He seems so… nice."

"Yeah, that has me a bit confused too." Saizo admitted. "Hey man, are you okay? I don't mean to sound rude but… you don't sound like yourself."

"You know I wasn't always the jerk with an axe." Asashi stated. "I do have a form of common decency, I just acted like a punk because of the difficulty of coming to terms with what was happening. Also I'm a weakling in the real world and don't have the guts to stand up for myself."

"And don't have a filter on admitting things, do you?" Saizo added, getting an ashamed nod from him.

"Yeah…"

"Well I guess it doesn't matter much now." Saizo said as he smiled. "I'm just glad you're still alive. I guess it's even harder to kill you than everyone thought."

"Yeah, I guess."

"So what brings you here? Not that I don't mind the surprise visit, but you honestly look like you should still be in bed."

"I'm just looking for everyone to make sure you're all okay." Asashi explained. "Agil found me earlier and it made me realize I can't just stay in bed. Luckily Mr. Kikuoka was kind enough to find all of you and bring me to you."

"Who are you going to see next?" Sara asked.

"Well, Sachi's the next closest one. So I figured seeing her wouldn't hurt that much."

"You mind if I came along with you?" Saizo asked. "I was wondering how the others were doing, but there's only a handful of other SAO players in here. None of which looks anything like her."

"Her?" Sara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sachi's one of my little sisters." Asashi quickly said, any potential thoughts quickly swept away. "Well, more like adoptive sisters, but that doesn't change the fact that they are family to me. Hachiman and Sachi were some of our fastest fighters, but outside of boss battles they didn't interact that much."

"See? Told you I didn't go around being a Casanova." Saizo added in. "If anyone was close to that, it would have to be Mr. Executioner here."

"Girls having a crush on me and me being a Casanova are two completely different things." Asashi responded with a half-lidded stare, getting chuckles from the former lancer.

"So is that a yes to coming?"

"If you can convince Sara to roll you, I doubt there'll be a problem."

* * *

"So you dyed your hair before going into SAO?" Saizo asked as he was rolled down the hall by Sara, staying next to Asashi as they moved down the hospital Sachi was being kept in.

"Yeah, I lost a bet with my friend and they made me dye it their natural color." Asashi admitted. "Since my hair was black I had to get some powerful stuff, so thanks to getting trapped it's stained some of my roots."

"That would explain the random assortment of red." Sara chuckled, smiling down to him. "Well I say it looks nice on you, not demanding much attention but showing that you're different from your time in SAO."

"Oh god you're philosophical like Hachiman." He sighed as he looked down. "This guy here picking my brain was bad enough, but now I got to worry about you as well?"

The three then shared a laugh before Seijirou led them to Sachi's room. "This is where Sana Chiko is being kept. She went through her evaluation already and her whole family came to visit, so we might have to wait a bit."

"I'm sure she'd want to know Nadar is alive as soon as possible." Saizo responded as he knocked, surprising Asashi at his forwardness. "Hello? Is the famous Moonlight Swordswoman present?"

A conversation could be heard through the door, and after a couple seconds a man no older than 20 opened the door. "Um, can I help you?"

"I'm sorry to barge in like this, but I was wondering if Sachi was here?" Hachiman was the lightly elbowed by Sara, who coughed to remind him to use her real name. "Sorry, I meant Sana."

The man looked at Saizo more than Asashi, the latter remaining meek and trying to avoid attention from his measuring gaze. He then looked back into the room, likely towards Sana. "Hey Sana, you brought up a guy with brown hair and eyes from SAO right?"

"Hachiman?" After hearing that for conformation, the man stepped aside to allow Saizo and Sara in, Seijirou waiting for Asashi to calm down. "It is you, what are you doing out of your room?"

"Well I just had to check up on my partners from the Assault Team." Saizo grinned. "When I figured out where you were it made sense to at least see you. Beats staying in the hospital for the whole time."

"So you're the lancer my niece has talked about." Another man, appearing to be in his late 40s, commented as he looked down to the player. "My name is Touma Chiko, I'm Sana's uncle. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too sir." Saizo bowed, looking back to Sana as he smiled. "I'm glad to see you made it out okay. How are you holding up?"

Sana looked down in response, clutching her sheets as she did. "I… I honestly don't feel too good. You're the only person I've seen from SAO that I recognize. I haven't heard from Kirito yet and I don't know how the others are doing. Not to mention… Nadar…"

"Hey, it's okay baby girl." The sole woman in the room, her aunt, whispered calmly as she hugged Sana. "I'm sorry, when we finally got to see her she was crying for almost the entire day. The death of your friend's hit her hard and she still has problems thinking about him."

"Nadar, but I thought…" Saizo then looked back to see that Asashi still wasn't in the room, getting an irritated sigh from him. "Mr. Kikuoka, can you please roll him in? She needs this right now and I'll be damned if he gets cold feet here."

"No, no, wait I'm not ready yet!" Asashi tried to plead, but was ignored as he was rolled into the room. Suddenly everyone's attention was on him and he couldn't help but look down, trying to ignore their stares. He was okay with dealing with a few people, but the amount in here was starting to get to him.

"…Nadar…" Sana whispered, just loud enough for Asashi to hear. When he looked up, he saw his sister's face again, tears running down her face as she couldn't believe who she was looking at. "Is that… is that really you?"

Seeing her cry, Asashi's instincts kicked in and he took ahold of his wheelchair's wheels, rolling himself the few feet to get right next to her. And without even giving a response, the boy reached over and embraced her in a comforting hug. "Sorry I took so long to find you Sis, things have been… complicated."

Sana couldn't even respond with words, only beginning to sob as she hugged her brother back tightly, pressing her face against his chest. Asashi acted as he had the dozens of times this had happened in SAO and moved a hand up to rub her head, trying to calm her as he began to cry himself.

"Hey, don't go crying." He said, despite his own tears escaping. "I'm here aren't I? You don't need to cry, it's okay. You're okay now."

"I… thought I'd never… see you again." She cried, barely able to speak as she was overwhelmed with her sorrow, relief and guilt. "When you fought Kayaba, and you shattered… I was so scared you were really gone."

"Hey, you know better than that." He smiled, keeping the gentle embrace as he comforted his sister. "It'll take more than frying my brain to keep me from comforting my little sis. So chin up, I promised I wouldn't abandon you and I'm going to keep that."

* * *

"Thank you for looking out for her." Touma thanked Asashi after Sana had cried her eyes out and fell back to sleep, the boy keeping next to her as she rested. Everyone else had left and were in the hall, the man asking for some privacy with Asashi.

"I could only do so much, but I made sure she would be able to fight on her own should it end up like that." Asashi responded.

"Still, you protected my niece, taught her how to fight and have allowed her to move on from that day." The man said as he looked to his niece, sighing in sorrow at her sleeping face. "Ever since her parent's car accident three years ago, she hasn't been herself. Her friends helped a bit, but she was becoming more and more scared as the days passed. I was afraid she'd never be able to smile peacefully again."

"Her parent's died?" Asashi asked, looking up to him.

"She didn't tell you?"

"Other than her… our friends, I didn't know anything about her real life." He admitted, referring to the former ranks of the Black Cats as they were. "I never asked what anyone's life was like, if they wanted to talk about it I'd listen. I'm sure Kirito would've known more about her, he was the one she spent the most time with."

"I see, I'm sorry you had to figure things out this way."

"No, it's okay. In all honesty, some things are starting to make a lot more sense now when I think back to it." Asashi didn't clearly state it, but his mind was wondering back to how much Sachi was pushing him to be Yui's uncle. "She didn't say it directly, but I know that she appreciates everything you've done to help her. And I am too."

"I did what I could, but you were the one who gave her the support she needed. I don't agree with how you acted, or the actions you took in the two years stuck in that game, but I can overlook them for Sana's sake."

"Don't worry, I'll hold myself up to the mistakes I've made without hesitation." Asashi chuckled. "I know a lot of what I did was horrible, and it wouldn't be surprising if I got locked up when what I've done is public. But what I know is, that Sachi was the first person to give me a reason to fight. If it wasn't for her I might have never changed from the person I was when we met."

"What about your friend? Sana mentioned someone by the name of Asuna who was close to you." That caused Asashi to look down in shame, concerning the man as he did.

"Mr. Chiko, there's something I have to tell you." The boy said as he fought back against his desire to cry, knowing he had to say it. "100 players have yet to wake up, Asuna and Kirito reportedly included in that list. Something has happened to them, and so far no one has a clue what happened."

"Oh, I'm sorry for bringing that up." Touma apologized, seeing the boy's guilt. "Had I known I wouldn't have-"

"It's okay, you were just curious. If it's all the same to you, I think we should avoid that subject around Sachi for a few days. Let her recover before bringing that up to her."

"Yes, that would be for the best."

"Um, sorry to break up the conversation." Seijirou said as he poked his head in through the door. "But there's someone here."

"Who?" Touma asked. "Everyone in my family is here, did one of the players come to find Sana."

"Actually… they're here for Asashi." He explained, looking to Asashi. "It's your father."

The boy's whole body froze at the information, breaking into a cold sweat as the man walked in. Aside from the hair color, the two couldn't look further apart. While Asashi still had some semblance of a natural tan, Neshi Ito was pale. He had grey eyes that contradicted Asashi's brown, and his hair more kept and smooth than his son's natural unruly hair. If they didn't share blood, it'd seem impossible to see the two as related.

"Do you know how long I've been looking for you?" Neshi asked, looking at his son with a disappointed gaze. "Two hours, I spent two hours looking through the hospital that you should have stayed in, but two others that you reportedly been to."

Asashi didn't even attempt to respond, his head hanging low as he shook anxiously, his eyes wide in fear as he looked down. "The fact that you ran off was bad enough, but to go and look for people that you didn't even know is beyond what I was expecting. I would expect that you of all people would know the dangers of going off on such a foolish errand like that."

"I…I had to see… see my friends…"

"Friends? You mean those people you met online?" Neshi asked, sighing as he did. "I didn't see any of your "friends" that you told me about I gave you that deathtrap of a game. And as far as I'm aware Sarah died on the day of release."

"I believe he was referring to the people he met in SAO, like my niece." Touma spoke up, holding his hand out to Neshi. "My name is Touma Chiko, your son rescued my niece in the game, he's a remarkable young man."

"Rescued? In that game?" Neshi questioned, looking to the man. "My son's too scared to ride a bike, he wouldn't ever consider putting his life at risk."

"Do you… do you think that little of your son?" Touma was caught off guard by Neshi's cold reaction, putting his own son down like that after the struggle they went through surprising him.

"On the contrary, I believe that Asashi is capable of many things. However I'm aware how much my son fears to be injured, and how far he'd go to avoid confrontation." Neshi responded. "My son has never had much backbone, that's something I've tried to fix ever since he was little. But he's too scared, he couldn't even stand up for himself in the face of a single bully. Him fighting in that hell of a game is nothing but a fabrication."

"You're wrong!" The two adults turned to Sana as she shouted, the girl having woken up while they were distracted.

"Pardon me?"

"Nadar isn't a coward, he did fight in SAO!" She continued, narrowing her eyes at the man. "He was fighting since day one, back when almost 8,000 players wouldn't even dare to leave the Town of Beginnings! He stared down bosses and criminals without hesitation! Your son was one of the strongest players in the entire game, he's the reason we made it out!"

"Even if so, that bravery didn't come back with him." Neshi commented, leading to Sana to turn and see Asashi shivering in fear, shocking her as he wouldn't even speak up for himself. "You might have known my son as he was in the game, he's always been different when he's able to remain anonymous. However that is very different here, and you could never understand who he really is."

"But we do." Saizo responded as he rolled in, his eyes narrowed as he couldn't stand to stay out any longer. "We know better than you ever could. It's as you say, in SAO no one knew who he was. He'd suffer no repercussions for his actions on others. He was powerful, stronger than most of the players that he fought with on the Assault Team. But he didn't abuse that power, instead he used it to track down the worst SAO created and stopped them from hurting others."

"He might not be confident out here, but that doesn't change who he is." He continued, defending the boy from his own father. "Because when his life was in danger, he spat and ran head first into everything we fought. A person's true nature is revealed when they're life is on the line, and Nadar showed he knew what it took to survive."

"Tell me, did your actual physical attributes translate into the game?" Neshi questioned back, confusing Hachiman. "Would someone with asthma struggle to breathe? What if someone who lost feeling in their legs went in, or even not have arms or legs? To my understanding VR negates those and allows a person to have no downsides unless instilled by the game."

"And if SAO was like that, then my son was spared that same way." Neshi stated. "Asashi is fragile, actual combat should scare him because of how easy he can be injured." Neshi then glared at Saizo, and faced with the cold glare the boy could tell where Asashi had gotten his terrifying rage. "You know nothing of my son outside of your time in SAO, thinking otherwise is foolish."

Neshi then looked to Asashi, who was still trembling as he never looked up. "I'll get you a nurse and bring you back to the hospital you should be in."

"What… what about… them?" Asashi asked.

"If you wish to stay in contact that's fine, but I wouldn't plan on seeing them again." Neshi explained. "You missed two years of your life, I intend on getting you back up to speed with everything. After that you'll go to college and learn the skills you need to take over the family business."

"But… but they're my… my friends."

"They were people you met in a videogame, they aren't your friends." Those words had struck Asashi hard, his eyes widening as they echoed in his head. He nearly stopped shaking, his hand letting go off his wheelchair to clench into a fist. And outside of their sight, his nails easily dug into the skin of his palm, cutting him open as he began to clench his teeth.

"Get… out…" He whispered, unheard by everyone in the room.

"What did you say?" Neshi asked, staring at him. "Speak up when you talk to me."

"GET THE FUCK OUT!" In a sudden burst of rage, Asashi swiped his hand out at his father, the blood from his palm splattering across the man's suit. Everyone both in and out of the room were caught off guard by the volume, Saizo and Sana both smiling as the familiar voice spoke true.

"What did you just say to me?" Neshi said back, glaring at his son as he disregarded the blood. The man's glare scared Asashi nearly back into submission, his shaking returning. But he refused to back down and glared back, the rage not nearly as effective with the fear in him.

"I… I said get the fuck out." He struggled to say, but got it out regardless. "You don't know anything about… about them. They're my friends… and I won't let you question that."

"Be as that may, but I'm not leaving until you get back to your room and treated."

"I'm never going… going anywhere with you again." Asashi then swallowed the spit building up in his throat, steeling himself. "I've… I've had enough… enough of everything. So just leave."

"Is that so?" Neshi responded with a chuckle, taking the words lightly as he saw his son continue to shake. "And what do you plan to do when you're released from the hospital? You don't have a job, and the only place you've ever lived is in my house. What will you do?"

"I'll… I'll think of something. I'm not… not an idiot."

"No, I suppose not." Neshi hummed, turning away as he did. "Very well, if you feel confident enough to be on your own now, then I won't stop you." He then started to walk out, pausing to smirk at his son. "But when your bluff passes and you come crawling back, I'll accept you back graciously. You've tried running away before, you'll come back on your own."

Neshi then left, and at that moment Asashi began to pant heavy, like he had just run a marathon. He looked down to his bloodied palm, the red liquid traveling down and dripping on his hospital gown. He was still shaking, unable to process exactly what he had managed to do.

"Hey, Nadar? You okay man?" Saizo asked with concern, wheeling next to him.

"You injured yourself." Touma said, grabbing some cloth left in the room and wrapping it around his palm. "How did you manage to dig into your skin that easily?"

"I can answer that." Seijirou responded as he walked in, holding his tablet. "According to his medical records, Asashi has a rare medical condition. His skin is weak compared to the normal person, so much that a small slap could leave a large bruise. I assume that even in his weakened state, digging his nails in was easy enough."

"Accurate enough as an explanation." Asashi finally said, feeling light headed from confronting his father.

"Are you going to be okay?" Touma asked. "I'm sure your recovery will be taken care of, but do you have anywhere to actually go?"

"Before you even ask, no, I won't stay with you."

"But-"

"I can't Sachi, and no to you as well Hachiman." Asashi quickly stated, stopping both from arguing. "You all will have enough to worry about without me getting in the way. I'll figure something out, it's what I do."

"Would you take a recommendation at the least?" Seijirou asked, getting everyone's attention. "I realize you don't wish to be a burden, but what's best for you is to stay with someone who you trust. Ideally someone from SAO."

"I probably won't like this, but I'll bite. Who?"

* * *

 **(A/N): So, this came surprisingly quicker than I was expecting it to. I was going to focus on my Abysswalker story and potentially two other stories while further thinking the next arc out, but I also feel that I should get the real world stuff out of the way. Next chapter should start the bridge between going back into Nadar figuring out what's going on and going back into VR, and after that the arc can officially start. I'm honestly excited, because I'm gonna pull a fast one on all of you that if you catch the subtle references you might know what'll happen. But until then, I hope you enjoyed this slow burning chapter and will update when I can. Peace!**


	24. New Game

"Well would you look at this?" Ryoutarou said as he and Asashi sat across the table from each other. The older of the two was holding onto his old tablet, reading a news article while Asashi was eating a piece of toast. "Two months and now that they've gotten all of the stories from the players they're planning on making it public in the form of a book."

"Neat."

"It sounds like they'll be using most of your side of everything, since you've been through so much." He added on, going through the article more. "Although they're saying it's going to be a few years before it'll be released. Apparently it's going to be taking the combination of perspectives to make a single coherent set of events."

"Super."

"Hey, you okay man?" Ryoutarou asked, putting his tablet down on the table. "You're going back to the one word responses again."

"Huh, I am?" Asashi looked up to him, not realizing half of what he was saying. "Sorry, I guess I zoned out again was all."

After his confrontation with his father, Seijirou said he had someone that Asashi would be able to stay with. He wasn't officially noticed until the week he left the hospital that it would be Ryoutarou, or Klein as he knows him, he would be staying with.

With both having a small amount to work with before having to get jobs, it was the logical answer to the cash problem they'd have the first month out. Lucky enough Ryoutarou was able to get his old job back after a little training to get back up to speed, and Andrew was kind enough to give Asashi a job cleaning dishes and occasionally serving drinks at his bar.

"That's the third time already, and you've only been awake for two hours." Ryoutarou stated. "I don't like to pry into you on things, but it feels like you're getting worse man."

"How exactly am I supposed to act?" He responded. "Over 300 players are stuck while I'm still alive, two months hasn't been nearly enough for me to just get over it."

"Sachi and the others seem to be doing okay."

"Sachi's been hanging out with Suguha, Hachiman's been getting ready for college with Sara, Liz and Sili are both still recovering in PT, and Agil's been getting time back with Kathy. Is that really a surprise they're doing better?"

"No, because they have outlets to deal with the stuff going on. You however won't do anything but work and visit Asuna and Kirito." Ryoutarou said, appearing concerned for Asashi. "It isn't a bad thing, but just because your body's healthy again doesn't mean you should let your mind go like this. You need something to get your head clear, maybe get a hobby or something."

"Yeah, like what?"

"I don't know, Suguha's been talking about some game she's had and it sounds like-"

"VR, seriously?" Asashi asked, raising an eyebrow at his roommate. "We got stuck in SAO for two years, and your first idea of a hobby is another VRMMO? You're kidding me."

"I mean, yeah it was bad. But you can't deny that without getting trapped it would've been a blast." Ryoutarou said as he went back to his tablet, looking at the stats for the VR market. "There's almost ten VR games out on the AmuSphere right now, and there hasn't been a single accident remotely similar to ours. Seriously you should look at the top two currently. DSO and GGO seem to be really popular with-"

"Klein, I know what you're trying to do, and I really appreciate it. But I'm just not ready yet." Asashi responded as he got up, finishing his toast. "VR's left a mark I'm not willing to reopen, and I just can't get Asuna and Kirito out of my head that easily. I promised them I'd get them out, and now look at them."

He then walked over to the door and grabbed his coat, putting it on as he walked out. "I'm heading out to work. I'll go see Asuna after and be back around four. I don't feel like cooking so I'll order pizza, what do you want?"

"Pineapple Teriyaki." Ryoutarou didn't want to end the conversation, but he knew the tell tale signs that pushing further wouldn't do any good. So he'd drop it for now, but he was going to confront him on it eventually.

"Then we're getting two smalls, I don't want that trash near my food." Asashi chuckled as he closed the door, trying to find some humor in the only way he knew how.

* * *

Work went rather slow for Asashi, there weren't too many patrons at the bar today so he spent most of it just cleaning the tables and double-checking the stock. He could tell Ryoutarou texted Andrew before he showed up, as the man was giving him a concerned glance. But luckily enough he didn't press on it, letting the boy go through his paces and work without worrying about everything.

But the peace of mind he had from working was gone when he showed up at Asuna's hospital room. Suddenly it all went back to square one as he stood next to her bed, staring down at her with guilt.

"It… it isn't fair." He muttered to himself. "I should be the one still in the bed, you should've been to wake up. You and Kirito both." He then looked down to her hand, remembering the dull warmth he felt when they departed in SAO. He slowly reached to hold onto it, but stopped before his fingers touched, retreating from the action. It didn't feel right, he didn't feel like he deserved to even know what it felt like, he failed her and he doesn't have an idea on what to do.

The sound of the door opening then drew Asashi's attention away, turning to see Asuna's father walk in with a bouquet of flowers. "Asashi? Sorry, I wasn't aware that you were here. Thank you for coming again."

"Hello… Mr. Yuuki." Asashi said as he regarded the man, keeping his eyes low as he approached. "Sorry if me being here inconvenienced you, I realize it must be annoying having me walking in so much."

"Please, you're welcome to visit any time you like. I know it makes her happy." Mr. Yuuki responded, placing the flowers next to the bouquet Asashi brought back on his second visit. "I may not know the full story, but everyone talks about how you saved her back in SAO. Having a friend like you must have been a blessing to her."

 _'More like a curse.'_ Asashi thought to himself.

"Sir." A second voice spoke up, getting Asashi's attention. It was a man, possible only two or three years older than him. He had slick back hair and dark eyes, a pair of glasses covering over him with a suit finishing the look.

"Oh, I don't think the two of you have ever met." Mr. Yuuki realized, motioning to the recent arrival. "This is Sugou, he's the chief of the research institute RECT Progress."

"Noboyuki Sugou, it's a pleasure."

"Um… I'm Asashi." The boy responded, feeling off put by the man's smile.

The information brought a shocked expression to Sugou's face, as he approached Asashi in awe. "No way, you're THE Nadar?" He asked as he shook Asashi's hand with both of his own. "It's a real honor!"

"I know we weren't supposed to talk about the SAO incident to people unaffected, but Sugou's my partner's son so I trust him." Mr. Yuuki explained. "And even then, he's always felt like a son to me."

"Uh, actually sir, speaking of family." Sugou brought up, turning to the man. "If I may, I'd like to make it official as soon as possible."

"This… is rather sudden. Are you sure this is really what you want? You're still young, you have your whole life ahead of you." The conversation was already beeping on Asashi's radar, which started to set sirens off when Sugo looked down to Asuna.

"I thank you for the concern sir, but my heart is set on it." Sugou said, shifting his glasses. "It sounds strange, but even though she's like this she's still beautiful. I'd love to see her in that wedding dress." Asashi's eyes widened in shock at that news, having felt like a train struck him.

"I suppose you have a point." Mr. Yuuki responded, looking to Asuna in sorrow. The sooner we prepare ourselves for the inevitable, the better." The man then saw the time, putting him back in control of his emotions. "Sorry to leave so suddenly, I have a meeting to get to." He then began to walk out, stopping to say one last thing before leaving. "We can talk more on this later. And Nadar… take care."

"I heard you and Asuna were rather close in the game, is that true?" Sugou asked, moving around to the other side of Asuna's bed.

"I… I guess we were." Asashi said weakly, barely able to consider that anymore after what happened. "Near the end we… no, it didn't quite get that far."

"That is unfortunate, it'll make for one complicated relationship between you and I." Sugou commented, leaning down and gently holding a few strands of Asuna's hair. Asashi was on edge at the action, but when the man took a quick smell of her hair he felt utterly sick to his stomach.

"In case you're curious, her father and I were discussing her marriage to me." He said with a smirk, seeing Asashi shake in place.

"You… you're not serious…" Asashi responded. "You… that's sick, you can't marry her when she's in this state."

"True, we can't officially get married." Sugou agreed, sitting on her bed as he kept an eye on Asashi. "But if the Yuuki family were to adopt me, it would be as if we are married. On paper anyways."

"The truth is, she's never been very fond of me." He admitted, slowly drawing his finger across Asuna's jaw. "Ever since we were kids. But neither her parents nor mine know about that. If I purposed to her while she could speak, I have no doubt she'd say no." Each word coming from the man was quickly pissing Asashi off more, nearly tightening his hands into fists in rage.

"But this situation we're in now is proving rather, favorable." He finished, watching as Asashi continued to shake, not even reacting when he saw him attempt to grab him. But just before he did, Asashi stopped himself instantly. His hand was shaking, but no matter what he did he couldn't bring himself to even touch Sugou.

 _'I… I can't do anything…'_ He thought. Sugou was a powerful man, he was the head of an entire section of a company. If he so much as touched him he could be charged and sent to prison without question. Had he stayed with his father, he might have had a chance, but now he was powerless.

"Hmph, you're not as hot blooded as everyone said." Sugou said with enjoyment, seeing the boy squirm as he pulled his arm back to his side.

"You can't… you can't do this." Asashi muttered. "Taking advantage of… of her like this is… it's wrong…"

"Take advantage? Oh please, if anything I have a right to her." Sugou chuckled. "Perhaps a little better explanation is in order. I'm sure you can put together what happened to ARGUS after the SAO incident began? The company your father had invested in?"

"They were… shut down."

"Very good. After everything that happened they couldn't support themselves and were forced into bankruptcy. However the maintenance of the servers were given to another company: RECT Progress." Asashi's eyes widened in realization as Sugou got up.

"My team was put in charge of keeping you all from being wiped immediately. In fact, I remember being in the servers when the game was being deleted and found an… anomaly." He continued, grinning as he leaned down next to Asashi's ear. "A single player who was being put through an extended kill phase. It seemed to be a waste to let go so I figured I'd cancel it."

"That's right, Kayaba wasn't the one who spared you, it was me." He said, getting a sick kick from seeing Asashi freeze. "And without getting into specifics, I'm the one keeping Asuna and Kirito both alive as well. Now tell me, don't I deserve some kind of rewards for all I've done, I'm sure you understand. It wasn't easy preventing a kill phase as quickly as I did."

Sugou then began to walk past Asashi and towards the door, stopping to speak more. "I don't know what kind of promises you two might have made while in there, and I don't care. But I don't want to ever see you in here again. And if you know what's good for you and your friends, stay away from the Yuuki family."

"The ceremony will take place a week from today. I don't want you here anymore but you should at least show. It'd be the nice thing. Well then hero, say goodbye and get out." He left on the threat, leaving Asashi alone in the room after the bombshell he was hit with.

He could only stare in disbelief at the ground, unable to process everything said in the room. And when he finally could, he began to break down crying, tightening his fists and drawing blood before falling to his knees.

"This… this isn't happening… it can't." He choked out, shaking as he released his fists and looked down to his hands, seeing the blood slowly drop from the opening. "Why? Why does this keep happening? Why can't I just… just…"

 _"I love you."_

Hearing Asuna's words in his head, he held his right hand as he placed the bloody palm to his chest, unable to stop the tears from falling down his face.

"I'm sorry Asuna… I'm so, so sorry." He cried. "It's all my fault, I know it is. It's always my fault… it's always my fault…"

* * *

"Hey man, sorry I'm late." Ryoutarou said as he entered their apartment. "I figured we'd need a little extra money so I stayed for a little overtime." He then looked around, not seeing Asashi at his usual hangout on the couch. "Nadar, you already asleep buddy?"

Going to his room, Ryoutarou was greeted by the sight of Asashi sitting on his bed, curled up in a ball as he shook, tears staining his face as he muttered to himself.

"It's always my fault… it's always my fault…"

"Nadar?" Seeing him in his condition, Ryoutarou instantly moved over to his bed and knelt down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hey man, what's wrong? You look horrible."

"Klein… why does the world hate me?" The man was caught off guard by Asashi's question, the boy looking up barely to see him. "Did I do something wrong when I was born? Did I… am I just not meant to be happy?"

"What the hell are you talking about, the world doesn't hate you." Ryoutarou said. "You deserve to be happy, I know it looks bad now but I swear Asuna and Kirito will be okay. We just have to wait, they'll get out soon."

Hearing his words, Asashi began to cry again and moved forward, surprising his friend with a desperate hug. "She's… she won't be okay! She's going to be taken away and I… I'll never get to see her again!"

"Hey, hey, don't talk like that." Ryoutarou tried to reason, instantly trying to relax the shaking boy. "Everything will be okay, she's not going anywhere."

"Yes, she is…"

Ryoutarou was now seriously concerned for Asashi. He's had an episode like this before, but it only lasted for a couple of minutes. As far as he could tell the boy's been alone and crying for hours.

"Okay, I see that something's wrong, I won't try and pretend I fully understand." He admitted, scaring Asashi. "But help me understand, explain to me what's going on and I'll see what I can do to help. I'll take a couple days off work and we'll get through this. Is that okay with you?"

"Klein… thank you." He responded. "I just… I don't know what to do. I haven't felt so useless since… since…"

"Take your time, I'm here for you buddy."

It took nearly an hour for Asashi to calm down, and when he did he passed out from exhaustion. Ryoutarou was sure to tuck him into bed, and afterwards he called work to request the next week off, along with sending texts to everyone about what had happened.

With how late it was he wasn't expecting a response, but soon after he was getting a call from Andrew.

"Sup?" He asked, answering the call.

 _"Hey, I got your message. How is the kid holding up?"_ Andrew asked.

"He's calmed down, so there's at least something." Ryoutarou explained, looking back to Asashi's room. "He's bad man, the past two months must have been harder on him that we thought."

 _"Did you get anything else from him? Did he explain anything about Asuna or Kirito?"_

"No, not other than that there's nothing that can be done." Ryoutarou answered. "He sounded so… defeated. I think he's given up on them ever waking up."

 _"Then we're going to have to change that."_ Andrew responded, confusing Ryoutarou. _"You called off work right? How soon can you come down to the bar tomorrow?"_

"Um, I wake up around seven, so I could drive down there in ten minutes. Why?"

 _"Trust me, I got something that should help. Just promise me that you'll get the kid here as soon as possible."_

"Yeah, of course man. We'll be there tomorrow."

 _"Good, come in through the back. Nadar has a set of keys to let you in. I'll see you guys."_

"See ya." Ryoutarou said before hanging up, confused by the insistence Andrew had. "Let's hope whatever you found is good."

* * *

"Klein… for the millionth time I told you, I don't have work." Asashi muttered as the two stepped out of Ryoutarou's car. Both were wearing casual clothes, but the younger of the two still looked like a mess.

"And for the millionth time we're not here for you to work." He responded, Asashi opening the back door with his set of keys and the two entered. "Agil said there was something he thought you needed to see."

"Unless he's got the answer to Asuna and Kirito waking up, I don't think it'll work." Asashi said as they walked through the backroom, entering the bar and seeing Andrew standing behind the counter. "Hey Agil."

"Hey man." Andrew said simply, wincing at Asashi's state. The two then sat at the counter, an awkward air filling for a second. "You two want anything?"

"Just some water for me." Asashi requested, resting his head down on the counter.

"I'll have a soda. Can't drink cause I'm driving for us." Ryoutarou said, getting a nod from the bartender as he fixed up their drinks.

"So what's up?" Asashi asked, looking up from his arms. "Klein says you got something important for me?"

"Well, I'm going to need to explain things a bit." The man said as he put their drinks down, reaching behind his counter and grabbing something. "You're gonna want to check this out." Sliding what he grabbed across the counter, Asashi stopped it with his hand before it hit him and looked at it.

It was a game case with someone wearing head to toe in medieval fashion armor. He was stabbing a strange coiled sword into it, which had embers going everywhere in the dark background depicted. And at the top where the embers were going was the title, the name raising Asashi's eyebrow.

"Dark Souls Online?" Asashi then groaned as he sat up more, giving Andrew a tired glare. "Did you seriously have Klein drag me out of bed to try and get me hooked on the same stupid game Suguha told me about? Do you seriously think I'd even consider going back into VR after everything?"

"Let me explain before you go on one of your rants, okay?" Andrew requested, getting Asashi to sigh before taking a sip of water. "Thank you. Now I realize you know this specific game, but do you know anything about the buzz behind it?"

"It's based off that trilogy of games made by FromSoftware, right?"

"Yeah, but it isn't a copy and paste type of thing." Andrew started, tapping on the game's title as he spoke. "It's got features of all three games, but it sounds like it'd fit in more centuries behind the first game. Supposedly the different covenants in the previous games are now factions in a sort of struggle of power to claim Lordran. It's a constant battle, dozens of factions have been popping up and everyone's after Anor Londo."

"Okay, let's pretend I know what any of those are. What does that matter?"

"The factions in their goal to take the city, its neutral ground and combat is impossible except for in the palace where a special boss event occurs. Some factions try to pull off alliances, but others often ruin it by sabotaging the preparations."

"Once again, why does this matter to me exactly?"

"The last preparation was a month ago, and scouts from the Sunlight Warriors decided to use binoculars to scout the enemies you have to fight on your way up the palace." Andrew continued, reaching for his pocket. "They amplified the affects of the binoculars with magic enchantments and were able to elevate themselves enough to actually see inside. And at the top… they found this."

Andrew then placed a photo on the counter, getting Asashi's attention. It was blurry, and for a second he couldn't tell what he was looking at. But taking the picture to get a closer look, his eyes widened in realization at what he saw.

"They're blurry, and the trick was patched so they couldn't get any more, but I'd be damned if I didn't recognize those two."

"They're… how?" Asashi questioned as he stared at the blurry images of Asuna and Kirito, seeing them separate in what looked like cages. He didn't know the first thing of what they were wearing, but he couldn't mistake their faces.

"Holy shit." Ryoutarou broke his silence, his shock equal to Asashi's. "There's no way, how is that possible?"

"I'm not sure, but I thought Nadar might have a better idea." Andrew admitted, looking at said boy. "So is there anything you can throw in?"

"I… I don't even know what to say." He responded, putting the photo down to look at the game case again. "There's no reasonable explanation to them getting stuck there unless…" He then appeared urgent as he flipped the case, seeing the publisher at the corner.

RECT Progress.

"Mother fucking son of a BITCH!" Asashi shouted as he slammed his fists on the counter, bruising himself as he did.

"What, what is it?" Ryoutarou asked.

"This game was made by RECT Progress, the company that fuckstick Sugou works for!"

"Who?"

"The bastard-fucking prick that's marrying Asuna!" He answered, shocking the two.

"Wait, is that what's happening? There's no way her parents would let that happen."

"But it is, the ceremony's in a week!" Asashi then stood up, looking to Andrew as he picked the game back up. "Agil, you have to let me borrow this, I'll explain later but I can't wait around. Please, I know it's bad but-"

"Relax man, I was going to lend it to you anyways." Andrew said, stopping him from continuing. He then smiled, giving Asashi a thumbs up. "And don't worry about work for the time being, I can hold down the fort while your gone."

"Thank you, thank you!" Asashi said as he turned to Ryoutarou. "Klein, we're stopping by the store on the way back. We need to buy two AmuSpheres and another copy of this."

"Wait, you want me to come with you?"

"I… I can't do this alone." He admitted. "I know this is sudden, but I swear I'll pay for everything! I'm sure I'll have enough to get the equipment, and I don't have time to wait."

"Actually, you don't need to worry about getting an AmuSphere." Andrew interrupted. "Our NerveGear is compatible. You shouldn't have a problem running it."

"Agil, I can't even begin to think on how I can repay you." Asashi said, Ryoutarou getting up and the two heading for the back door. "We'll figure everything out and get them out, I swear!"

"Wait, are we going to know where to go?" Ryoutarou asked. "Neither of us has even played a Dark Souls game, how are we supposed to figure out this place?"

"You're right, we need a guide." Asashi thought, snapping his fingers a second later. "Suguha, she's played the game for awhile now! We'll stop by the Kirigaya's and tell her."

"Wait, hold up! There's something else I-" Andrew tried to call out, but was too late as the two closed the door and locked it. "Ah man, that's going to make things difficult."

"Hey Agil, we're here like you asked." Sana said as she opened the door, Saizo and Sara walking in with her. Along with them was Keiko Ayano, better know to them as Silica. She was using crutches to move, but when they got the text from Ryoutarou she refused to stay behind.

"Sorry we're late, traffic was horrible." Saizo said as they all moved to the counter, Sana helping Keiko sit.

"There's something you wanted to tell us?" Keiko asked, getting an awkward breath from Andrew.

"Well, yeah. But I might have to shorten it so you guys can respond quick enough."

"What did Nadar do this time?" Saizo questioned, instantly knowing who it was.

"See that photo?" Andrew asked, motioning to the picture by Sara.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Take a look." At his advice, Sara was the first to look, appearing slightly surprised.

"Hey, that's Anor Londo isn't it? In DSO?" She asked.

"Yeah… how'd you know?"

"I started playing that three months ago, wanted to see what all the hype was."

"You put on VR gear after what happened to us?" Saizo asked, before a more important question emerged. "Wait, you started playing a videogame!?"

"Well I sort of… I wanted to know what was so good that you risked getting trapped in to play." Sara admitted, poking her fingers together. "I know it wasn't the smartest idea, but the AmuSphere was safe so I thought there wouldn't be a problem if I tried it."

"Hold up, what else is on that?" Sana asked, taking the photo from Sara. She took a close look at the blurry details, struggling to make any object outside of the cage bars and castle exterior. "I don't get it, what's there exactly?"

"Take a closer look at the cage on the right, near the edge of the window." Sana followed Andrew's directions, looking at the specified area. At first she wasn't able to see much, but eventually she saw the shape of a person gripping the bars, looking even closer before the image stuck to her and she gasped.

"Sachi?" Keiko asked with concern, seeing Sana place a hand to her mouth.

"That's… it's…"

"Yeah, and that's why he's going in." Andrew said, surprising everyone. "There's a second figure in the cage across from him. We can't be for certain, but there's no denying that the two look like Asuna and Kirito, even with the damn blur."

"Wait, he's going into DSO?" Saizo questioned. "I thought he wanted nothing more to do with VR. He got mad at Suguha for recommending it to him two weeks ago."

"Because the two just being in the game isn't the part that's got him on edge." Andrew stated, crossing his arms. "That problem he had last night, well I just figured it out for myself. And let me tell you, it isn't good."

* * *

"I… I don't know what to say." Suguha said as she stared at Asashi, the boy sitting next to her on her house's back porch. He had explained to the girl everything that he had currently, and to say she was at a loss for words was an understatement.

"You could say I'm completely insane and that this makes absolutely no sense." Asashi responded, handing her a bottle of water. "It'd beat the common thread that I'm just disappointed."

"You actually think Kazuto is trapped in DSO? Why there of all games? How would that even be possible?" Suguha asked, getting a shrug from the boy.

"DSO is published by RECT Progress with permission from FromSoftware. One of the heads told me that he saved me from my brain being fried and that he was keeping Asuna and Kirito alive. Factor that in and I'd guess he transferred the two into DSO. I know why he's keeping Asuna, but Kirito's the part that I'm confused at."

"I know this is a lot to take in, and if you don't believe me I don't blame you. This is all crazy and doesn't make the tiniest bit of sense. But I need someone's help to lead me to Anor Londo and you're the only person I know who can do that."

"Why aren't you going to Sana and Saizo?" Suguha asked. "I thought if you were going to ask anyone for help, they'd be the first for you. Sana always said the two of you three were like partners."

"…I can't do that to them." He admitted, looking down as he did. "We only got out of SAO two months ago, the impact that had on us will follow us for awhile. They shouldn't have to risk themselves just because of my hunch. I don't even want to go back in, but the bastard Sugou told me something and I only have a week to stop him. Going after him here is impossible without me giving up everything, so VR's my best chance to get back at him and get everyone out."

"I know that we barely know each other, and that I've been intentionally avoiding you for reasons beyond your control, but I desperately need your help." He finished, bowing down as he tried to contain himself. "Please, there's a lot on the line, and I'm afraid of what will happen if I don't get to them in time."

"You're… sure Kazuto is there?" Suguha questioned, getting a nod from him. "Then I guess I have no choice but to help you." She responded, standing up as she looked down to him. "I want to see him get out too, so I'll do everything I can to help. I might even be able to get a few of my friends to lend a hand too."

"You… you mean it?" Asashi asked, looking up to her.

"I have a really close friend named Vincent, he has his own shop in Volrun, the Warriors of Sunlight city. We can get you and Ryoutarou equipment that'll be helpful for a low level build." Suguha stated, smiling as Asashi got up. "I can't promise it'll be easy, but we'll get to Anor Londo no problem."

She was then caught off guard as he hugged her, showing his appreciation as he shook. "Thank you Suguha… you don't know how much what you're doing means to me."

"Hey, it's okay." Suguha comforted, hugging him back. "We may not know each other well, but Sana and the others keep telling me how much you care for everyone. We'll get Kazuto and Asuna out, so that way everyone can meet in person finally."

"Thank you… thank you…"

* * *

"So, you ready for this?" Klein asked as he stood at Asashi's door, the younger sitting on his bed with his NerveGear in hand.

"If I'm being honest, I'm not." Asashi admitted, seeing his reflection in the glass. "Going back into VR was the furthest in my head, I wanted nothing more than to just put it behind me. It took my best friend from me in the first two hours, and stole my brother and the girl I love when we got out. It's nothing but a bitter memory for me."

"We'll get them out Nadar, I promise you that."

"If we don't then Asuna's doomed to be with Sugou." He then tightened his fingers on the helmet, glaring in anger as the face of the man flashed in his mind. "I won't let her suffer like that. I won't let a greedy, slimy bastard of a fucker do that to her."

"It's just about five, Suguha said we should get on to meet her at the beginning hub." Ryoutarou reminded, getting a nod from Asashi as he put the NerveGear on.

"Right. And remember, her name's Leafa in VR, she said to look for a blonde with brass armor when we get in."

"Roger that boss man." Ryoutarou smirked as he walked out, closing the door as Asashi laid back.

 _'I'm coming Asuna.'_ He thought as he stared up in determination, tightening his fists as he closed his eyes.

"Link Start!"

The familiar sensation of his mind and body being separated as he connected to virtual reality took over, quickly overcoming him temporarily before he appeared in a stone room. It was a massive contrast to the colorful visions he got entering, but his attention was brought to in front of him, seeing a bonfire with a coiled sword in front of him.

"Welcome Chosen, you are about to enter the kingdom Lordran." A deep voice spoke out of nowhere, confusing him before a menu appeared in front of him. "Speak Chosen, on who you were and will become again."

Seeing the options for his name and gender, he put in male before hesitating on his username. But after a glare of focus he put in Nadar, clearing the step before another came up.

"The world is full of living and undead, what was your original form?" The voice asked, and up came three race options.

Nadar looked at them, seeing human, elf and beast as the options. Glancing at them, he saw that they offered different perks, but also had some downsides to them. Elves had higher speed and magic, but had lower health and strength. Beasts had incredible health and strength, but had lower speed and magic. Humans didn't appear to have any advantages or disadvantages, making it that the choice for him.

Another option then came up, the different covenants that Andrew told him of. Looking at all of them there was varying perks to them, none having a downside. They just served as good starting spells or skills that would benefit certain play styles, but some had prerequisites on race. Scrolling through them, his attention was caught by the Gravelord covenant.

He saw that there were two skills attached to being a Gravelord Servant: A temporary increase in strength and a buff for dark or poison on weapons. He wasn't sure how to do the buff, but the strength increase was perfect for his play style and he selected it.

"Your journey begins anew Chosen, but this will not be one of satisfaction." The voice spoke up. "Your appearance will be shifted and altered, the form you once knew will be a memory to what you'll become. But it doesn't matter, for the First Flame must be kept lit. Your destiny is to kindle the embers, and save our world from darkness alongside Lord Gwyn. Good luck, and may the gods have mercy on your twisted soul."

 _'Back to the same war.'_ Nadar said as he looked down to his hands, seeing them evaporate as he was being teleported. _'I destroyed Aincrad, and I'll destroy this game too. Wait a little longer you two, it won't take me long to rip everything apart.'_

He then closed his eyes as his head was teleported, readying himself for the world to come. The first thing he felt was an odd warmth over his chest, feeling as if just entering the world brightened him. But when he opened his eyes, he was only greeted by darkness. He felt trapped, stuck by some unknown force until he felt something go into his mouth.

His mind realized it before his body, feeling it freeze up in confusion when he opened his eyes, being met by a hot burning in his eyes.

 _'I'm buried!?'_

* * *

 **(A/N): So, surprise! A bit of a twist on things from what I'm guessing everyone was expecting. Changing up ALO to DSO was something that in all my original drafts didn't happen, but before I started writing this story I was getting obsessed with Dark Souls, specifically DS 3 and have since made it a part of this story. Inspiration to change the game mainly came from Mataras, who has fanfictions that I feel are definite recommendations if your looking for good SAO stories. But as for this play, I'm hoping to correct the hate set on Alfheim. Personally I didn't despise the arc like so many, but that's because I'm relatively easy to entertain. But I'm not ignorant of its flaws and I'll be working hard to make this as good of an arc as I can. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Peace!**


	25. The Executioner's Judge

_'What the hell is this!?'_ Nadar thought to himself as he struggled to push his arms up. Whatever he was buried in was shifting, making it difficult to get a sense of direction. He began to claw his way out, trying to push the stuff away as he felt his eyes burn more. _'What kind of game starts you buried like this!?'_

He didn't know how long it took, but he eventually managed to push enough away and sit up gasping for air. His waist down was still buried, but he was grateful to just get out of whatever he was in.

Reaching down, he took a handful of what he was buried in, feeling a faint warmth between his visibly armored fingers. "Ash?" He said to himself, letting the diming embers fall as he stood his full height. By his guess, he was around the same height he is in real life, possible a few inches taller. Looking at himself, he saw he was covered in shiny silver armor, appearing like a traditional knight minus the helmet. Aside from the armor, his equipment on him was a short sword on his waist and shield on his left arm.

"So, a simple knight huh?" He commented, rolling his shoulders as he looked around him. He appeared to be in some kind of cemetery, surrounded by walls of jagged rock, worn down by the elements and battle. The graves around his were all in horrible shape, even his own barely appearing to have survived some battle.

"This place doesn't look anything like a hub for new players." He said as he took a few steps, not even feeling the weight of his equipment. He then swiped his hand down to access his menu, and was hit with momentary fear when nothing happened. He tried a few more times, nearly panicking before swiping his index and middle finger to the right, opening a horizontal menu.

"Right, this is what the menu looked like in the older games." He sighed as he first went to the options, seeing his Log Out where it belonged. "Well at least I won't have to deal with that shit again. Now then, let's check these stats out." He remembered the stats of Dark Souls being a large assortment, but with it being in VR he had to double-check everything.

Opening his stats menu, he saw that it was almost identical to SAO, aside from a Faith and Attunement options added in. Thinking of how lazy that was for a second, he was surprised when he saw that his stats were exactly the same as they were in Aincrad, the only thing missing his Marauder's Malice skills.

"Wow, another broken game." He commented before smirking, going to his items menu. "Won't see me complaining about that though. Beat's grinding to get up enough." Opening the items, he was hit by disappointment as he saw almost everything was appearing as unrecognizable, not surprising since it came from a completely different game. "Guess I'm not missing too much, really all I had that could help was some armor and a couple potions leftover."

Browsing through everything, he eventually found a single item that the system apparently recognized. The label was MHCP001, which confused him. He had no memory of having a ridiculous named item in his inventory, unless it was kept in his never touched Miscellaneous section. Selecting it, his menu went away and a small blue gem appeared in his palm.

He was even more confused at seeing it, tapping on it to see if it'd have an affect like most random items did. It then began to glow brightly, blinding him and forcing him to look away. The light began to hover on it's own, taking form before slowly dimming away. When Nadar was able to see again, his eyes widened in shock as he saw Yui's form floating in the air, curled in a ball as she appeared to be sleeping.

The girl's eyes then slowly opened as she was regaining awareness, appearing equally surprised at seeing Nadar standing below her. "Un… Uncle?" She was slightly confused, seeing Nadar's features different from what she recalled. His face was similar to his SAO avatar, the skin paler and his hair scarlet red. But aside from that, he appeared just the same as she remembered.

"Yui… you're okay." Unable to fight against the game's programming, Nadar felt tears begin to form as he held his arms out to the girl. A strong sense of relief overcame him as he caught the girl before she touched the ground, the two embracing each other as her light went away.

The two remained in the embrace for several moments, both relieved to see the other after two months apart. As far as Nadar was aware, her programming was locked in someone's data, while for her she saw him shatter at the hands of Kayaba.

Eventually the two moved to sit on a stone casket, Nadar speaking up as he looked down to Yui. "So what were you doing in my menu exactly?"

"When you and auntie left to find Kibaou, mommy and daddy decided where to put a copy of my programming." Yui explained. "They said you were the best option to put it in, believing you'd make it to the end."

"Guess that changed when I got iced." Nadar muttered before shaking his head. "Well I'm glad to see you're still around. It must have been scary not knowing what would happen after my avatar was destroyed." He then smiled as he patted her head, ruffling her hair a bit. "I heard you helped everyone take it to Kayaba, way to show everyone what you're made of."

"I was only able to stop the paralysis, but I'm happy it worked." Yui returned the smile, before looking around in confusion. "Where are we uncle, and where are mommy and daddy?"

"Right, gotta bring you up to speed." Nadar groaned. "Well, first thing's we're in another game. Dark Souls Online, a dark fantasy game with medieval weapons and magic. As for your parents, Sachi's back in the real world recovering. She's doing well, but I didn't want to bring her back into VR after the two years we spent in SAO. As for your father… Kirito's the reason I'm in here."

"Is something wrong?" Yui asked in concern, getting a disappointed nod from her uncle.

"Kirito hasn't woken up since we got out of SAO, and Asuna's been in the same condition. I'm hoping that we'll be able to get them out, but right now Asuna's in a bad situation. I need to get to Anor Londo in six days or else she'll be married to a scumbag of a person. But I didn't end up in the right place, otherwise we'd be at some kind of hub area."

Hearing all this, Yui placed both her hands on her head, closing her eyes as she began to concentrate. Configuring all of the data around them, she was able to learn everything of the game's code near instantly, coming to a conclusion. "You did end up in the right area. It appears this is a spawning area for new players, but has special traits to it."

"What do you mean?"

"Apparently, you're avatar has the status of Ashen One. It's a rare effect that only a handful of players receive, their purpose is to serve as the one who will link the First Flame for their faction."

"That would explain me being buried in ash." He thought, opening his menu as he looked at his equipment. He had deleted all of the equipment that had transferred from SAO, leaving him with what he had from DSO. "Hey Yui, can you tell me what these Estus Flasks are?"

"Of course, they're the equivalent of health potions here." Yui answered. "They have a limit to their use, but they can be refilled at a bonfire. Since you're a Knight, you start off with three. You can upgrade them too if you find Estus Shards and apply them at a Fire Keeper."

"So keep them close, got it." He said, looking down to the glowing orange bottle on him. Aside from it, he has five simple bombs and ten throwing knives to go along with his sword and shield. "Are we able to get back to the main hub from here?"

"According to the map data, we're in a separate server currently." She explained as he stood up. "We have to find the bonfire at the end of the area to enter the main server."

"Alright, so I guess we better get to it." He responded, unsheathing his sword as he looked at the set path. "Since you don't have a weapon, I'm going to need you to stay behind me. Guide us through the area and I'll take care of anything we run into. I expect a few enemies for this tutorial."

"But I can help!" Yui argued, jumping up to her feet as she looked up to Nadar. "My avatar still has active player options, I just have to activate them and I'll be recognized as one to help."

"Are you sure?" Nadar asked. "We're not in SAO anymore, how could you keep those privileges?"

"The CARDINAL system is still active, it needs updating but it's running the game." She then closed her eyes and was surrounded by flames, shocking Nadar for a second before it vanished. Her white dress was gone, replaced by a set of blue and black cloth armor, a white rope around her waist and a white undershirt finishing her basic gear. "Based on the stats daddy gave me, the system designates me as a cleric."

"Huh, well would you look at you." Nadar smiled as he knelt down next to her. "You're already looking like a fighter, although it doesn't look like you have much protection. What can you do?"

"As a cleric, I have a high starting Faith and Attunement, followed by Strength. I can cast Miracles with my chime. Since I haven't bought any, I only have Force and Heal." She held up the golden chime, motioning to her waist where a mace was held. "I also have a mace, but I've barely had any combat experience."

"I'll handle the fighting Yui." Nadar said, standing back up. "You just focus on healing me if I get hit."

"Right!" Yui cheered, getting a chuckle from her uncle.

* * *

"Man, where is he?" Klein spoke as he looked around, standing at the main hub. His avatar appeared to be nearly identical to his real life appearance as well, even keeping his stats from SAO too. The only difference was the red scales on the sides of his face, having selected the Beast race and chose Path of the Dragon covenant, making him a dragonkin.

He got into the hub nearly ten minutes ago, and he's been waiting for Nadar and Leafa to show up. But aside from the occasional new player, he hasn't seen head or feet of the people he was looking for.

"This isn't a good sign, maybe he's gotten backed up or something?" He guessed, crossing his arms as he tapped his foot. His set class was Knight as well, making his gear identical to Nadar's. However he appeared comfortable in the armor, his only problem so far with the weapon and shield. "Hopefully Leafa shows up soon, then we could maybe go look for him if something happened."

"Excuse me." Hearing someone call out to him, he turned to his right to see a woman in brass armor speak, a straight sword connected to her hip. She didn't have a helmet on, revealing her short blonde hair and silver eyes. "I couldn't help but notice you've been standing here for some time, are you waiting for someone."

"Yeah, me and a friend are… starting out and another was offering to help us." Klein explained, noting her match of description to what Nadar said Leafa looked like. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to be Leafa would you?"

"My user? No, sorry I'm not. My name here is Anra, although I do know a Leafa." Anra revealed. "We're both in the Warriors of Sunlight, and we're even in the same guild. I could message her if you like."

"Yes, please!" Klein responded. "Sorry, but me and my friend are in a hurry and I don't have a way of communicating with either of them."

"It's no problem, our faction's known for helping people out no matter the circumstances." Anra said, opening her messenger menu. "I'll send her message that you're waiting. What's your name?"

"Oh, it's-"

"Anra, there you are!" Klein was interrupted as another voice called out, the two turning to see a group of players approach. At seeing the players, Klein's jaw dropped as he jumped back in shock, recognizing all of them.

"You're here Sai-oops." Anra stopped, correcting herself before she made the mistake. "Sorry, Hachiman, it's good to see you all here."

"Took awhile to figure everything out again." Hachiman admitted, rubbing the back of his head. Behind him was Sachi and Silica, all of them having similar looking avatars to their real appearances. The only notable differences between them was Hachiman's green hair and scales, Silica's red eyes and Sachi's pointed ears.

They were all a different class, with Hachiman having the equipment of a sorcerer, covered head to toe in white robes with a magic staff on his back. Silica had selected the thief class, wearing dark ragged clothes, a knife on her hip with a hood finishing her appearance. And Sachi had on a mix of armor and cloth, having chosen the mercenary class that gave her a single curved sword.

"I'm sure it was, what factions did you pick?" Anra asked, no one noticing Klein's shocked expression.

"Well, I obviously had to pick the Sun Bros. What else am I gonna do?" Hachiman responded with a smirk.

"I wasn't too sure on which ones were good, but Blade of the Darkmoon sounded good so I went with it." Sachi admitted. "Although half of them were blocked from me picking to be an elf, guess that means some can't be in others."

"I didn't know what to do, so I picked the Forest Hunters." Silica said, pulling her hood back to reveal cat ears on her head. "Apparently since I chose Beast it made me part cat."

"Well I think you look adorable Silica." Sachi said, rubbing her head. "Although we have to get you into something not so evil looking. Black doesn't really suit you."

"We'll settle that when we get to Volrun." Anra promised, turning back to Klein. "Before we go, I have to message one of my friends. Apparently she promised to help out this guy and one of his friends."

"Hopefully it's a quick response, we don't know how far ahead Nadar and… Klein… are…" An awkward air filled in as Hachiman trailed off, the four SAO survivors all staring at each other. "…Klein?"

"He-Hey guys, fancy meeting you here." Klein responded, chuckling lightly as he felt all three stare at him. "Now I'm sure you might have, a few questions for me."

"A few would be putting it lightly."

* * *

"Ha!" With a shout of power, Nadar swung his sword at a Hollowed warrior and cleaved it in two, a gush of blood shooting out before everything of it turned to dust. Nadar has been fighting the monsters for roughly ten minutes now, and since then he's been able to figure out some of their patterns and traits.

Hollows, as Yui called them, appear to be the main enemies of this game. Humanoid esc creatures that appeared shriveled up to where their skin wrapped around their bones. Their flesh was rotten, a mixture of green and black due to extensive time out in the direct sunlight after death. In lore they were once human, burdened by the Dark Sigil until they lost their free will, becoming the zombie like creatures they are in a desire for souls.

After the latest kill, Nadar took a moment to collect himself, panting as he had dozens of injuries across his body. He was rusty when it came to fighting in VR and it was showing. Even with the sword his stats would make it easy to clear out most of the Hollow in the area. But because he hasn't even considered coming back he was struggling to keep up physically.

"Are you okay uncle?" Yui asked, walking up to him as he recovered.

"Yeah, I just lost my edge is all." He said as he reached for his belt, grabbing his Estus. Looking at the bottle, he sighed in disappointment before chugging it, recovering his health. His Flask then lost its orange glow, signifying that he couldn't recover anymore. "I wasn't expecting to come back and with these new free motions it's difficult to figure things out."

"We're making good progress though, we've made it to the boss room." Yui said, looking to her side. Across the open terrain was an old destroyed entrance, a wall of fog in the way.

"You're kidding me, there's a boss after this too?" Nadar asked, groaning as he placed his empty flask back on his belt. "I've been fighting constantly, you'd think they'd give me a break here."

"It won't be that bad uncle." Yui promised. "I have my Miracles still, I'll heal you when your health gets too low. Once you get the pacing I know you won't be as caught back like this."

"Here's hoping." He mumbled as he approached the fog. "So what do we do with this? Say secret password, offer a sacrifice? Maybe ask nicely?"

"Just walk through it, the boss should be active once you pull the sword out of it." Yui explained.

"Well hopefully it's better than this p.o.s." He muttered, walking through the fog without effort, followed shortly after by Yui. The area for the boss battle was a large circular arena, the right completely opened by destruction, showing the Cliffside and shining sun. Nadar then stopped to look at the center, seeing a four-meter giant in cast iron armor kneeling, a coiled sword through his chest and a halberd at his side.

 _'You've got to be fucking kidding me.'_ He thought with a sigh, his shoulders slumping as he walked up to the kneeling warrior. Once he was close enough, he saw black tendrils protruding from his back, appearing as an added texture to the player.

"So I just pull this sword out of him and it'll activate the battle?"

"That's right, and you shouldn't need to worry. I've searched online and apparently this boss is considered easy in the game he originated." Yui stated, getting back to avoid the boss' agro. "Just act as leveled as you were in your battles in SAO and it shouldn't be a problem."

"You and I remember two different styles." He whispered as he sheathed his sword and grabbed the coiled blade with both hands. Pulling with all his might, he underestimated how lodged it was and pulled it out instantly, falling over in the process. "Son of a… ahh that wasn't as difficult as I expected." He groaned as he rubbed the back of his head.

After removing the sword, it vanished from his hands like it wasn't there, not even appearing in his menu. The action confused him, but he was brought back to the game when he saw the boss reach for its halberd. Scrambling to his feet, Nadar was just able to bring his shield up when the boss sent a fast slash at him, sending him skidding back.

It was then it stood up to its full height, holding onto the halberd with a single hand. The tentacles on its back began to move slightly, not going out of control but slithering around its body. And as its single bar of red health appeared, the boss' eyes glowed bright red, its name revealing itself.

 **Iudex Gundyr**

"Great, I'm guessing strength with dexterity stats." Nadar growled as he unsheathed his sword, keeping his shield up as he prepared himself. He wasn't used to the setup he had, but he was hoping that since this boss was the first he could find an easy way around it.

Taking precautionary steps to his side, Nadar watched carefully as the boss took a few steps toward him. The differences in their sizes felt all the more intense as they both appeared unwilling to back down.

The fight then went from zero to a hundred instantly as the boss lunged right at Nadar, shocking the player with its speed. He was able to block its attack, but was sent back several feet from the impact. As he stopped, he looked past his shield to see the boss running right at him, rearing its fist back to strike him.

The player felt his instincts scream at him to dodge, but his caution won and he blocked it again with his shield, sending him further back. He blocked two more strikes from the boss' halberd, noting he seemed to be able to prevent it from hitting him directly and causing serious damage. But after the boss sent a quick jab and knocked him back, he felt his back hit against the rock wall, surprising him.

 _'Shit!'_ He thought as he lunged out and rolled between the boss' legs, dodging an overhead swing that would've knocked him right on his face. He then had to bring his shield back up as the boss brought its elbow up and struck at him, overwhelming him and knocking him across the area.

"Uncle, you can't block all of its attacks!" Yui warned, Gundyr looking back to him as he struggled to get up. "You have to avoid the punches and hit it when it's recovering from its halberd attack!"

"Easier said than done." Nadar grunted as he got to his knees. Looking down to his sword and shield, he bit his lip as he wished he had something more heavy. If he had at least a weapon needing two hands he'd feel confident in countering it, but he didn't know how much health this boss would have. He didn't have much time to think on it, as Gundyr turned and began to approach him again.

Keeping low, Nadar took a calming breath and waited for it to attack, seeing it raise its halberd up. Jumping at the right time, he rolled underneath the blade and quickly swiped his sword across Gundyr's leg. He saw a tiny fraction of the boss' health go down, making him wince at how long this was going to take.

Jumping back to get some distance from the boss, Nadar felt his hand shake as he put his shield forward. _'My first time back in VR and I'm fighting a boss, alone! How am I supposed to fight this when I haven't used a sword ever!?'_

"Uncle watch out!" Nadar snapped back to attention when he heard Yui's warning, not able to get away quick enough as Gundyr threw his hand forward and grabbed him past his shield. He was surprised at how effortlessly it held him before he was slammed hard into the ground, taking a small chunk of his health and causing him to cough out blood.

 _'Damage is taken so differently…'_ He thought as he looked up to Gundyr, unable to bring himself to stand up. _'Why was I kidding myself? Did I think I was going to be as good as I was in SAO? I don't even know the first thing of this game, Sarah isn't here to walk me through the basics. I don't have Kirito and Hachiman's inside information, I can't even fight against an intro boss…'_

Seeing Gundyr raise his halberd up, Nadar had already given up as he accepted his fate. Even if he had better stats, he had no idea of how to fight bosses in this game, it felt nothing like the cut and run strength battles Aincrad's bosses were. He couldn't contend with it with his equipment with his normal style.

But just as it was about to strike down on him, Nadar was caught off guard as Yui ran to between him and the boss. With her chimes in one hand and her mace in the other, Yui swung her left hand to the side at the moment Gundyr struck at her. And when Nadar not only saw her not take any damage but also seemingly stun the boss from the move, he couldn't believe his eyes.

To further shock him, Yui struck at Gundyr's chest as he fell to a knee from the stun, lodging the sharp edges into the armor. The initial attack didn't do much, but when she pulled the mace away blood spurted out from Gundyr and he was knocked to his back, losing a tenth of his health.

"Yui… you…" Nadar was at a loss for words as he looked up to his niece, not expecting the power behind her swing or effortless parry with her bare hand.

"It's not about the stats or equipment uncle." Yui explained to him, turning to him as she did. "Gundyr is meant to be a test of your adaptability and strategy. His weakness is parries, if you can hit his halberd at the end of its arc he'll be open to a repost, causing critical damage."

"Yui… that's incredible." Nadar said before looking to Gundyr, seeing him getting up. With a new vigor, Nadar stood up against again and stepped next to Yui. "I'm not going to be able to parry with this shield, I haven't figured out how to fight with one and I don't think I'll keep it for long. Are you able to parry him again?"

"Yes, I've studied the timing required to parry his attacks without a weapon. Force doesn't work on him, so I don't believe my Miracles will be very useful." The girl nodded, smiling at her uncle as she saw him stand to the challenge.

"Good, I'll handle hitting him after you parry." He spoke, planting his feet as he saw Gundyr stand back at his full height. "Show me what the daughter of the Black Swordsman and Moonlit Swordswoman can do."

"I will." She spoke with determination, running her calculations before predicting Gundyr's next move. "He's going to go for a punch, followed by a swing of his halberd!"

"Got it!" Nadar responded as he watched Gundyr preform the very moves she warned, the two dodging to the right as he slammed his fist down at them. When he went to swing his halberd at them, Yui reacted quickly and moved forward, parrying his attack and stunning him once more.

Not wasting the opportunity, Nadar lunged forward and stabbed his blade through Gundyr's chest. Grabbing the hilt with both hands he then ripped it out across the boss' entire chest, blood gushing out and splattering across him as the boss fell back. He felt that he shouldn't have been surprised at seeing the boss' health drop below 50%, but he couldn't stop himself from being stunned at the amount of damage taken.

Although when he looked down, he discovered that his own sword had shattered, unable to take the amount of force he had put into it. _'Shit, that isn't good!'_ Seeing Gundyr get back up became his pressing concern, as he held the broken blade while preparing to defend himself.

But when the boss was to his feet he seemed to pause, not moving as his eyes glowed brightly. Nadar was expecting to see an attack come but was caught off guard as he saw the black tendrils on his back begin to move sporadically.

"Uncle get back!" Yui warned. "Iudex Gundyr has a second phase, he's about to transform!"

At the moment she finished the boss went through its transformation, changing drastically from the normal form. The tendrils grew and almost completely consumed Gundyr's upper body, only leaving his head and halberd arm free while taking control of what's left. The mass of black then expanded and stretched until it formed a giant serpent, red glowing eyes forming at the end and opening its mouth to release a painful roar.

The monstrous transformation had made Nadar freeze in place, not expecting such a drastic change to the boss so suddenly. But just as the serpent shot out at him, he recovered and blocked with his shield, getting knocked back near Yui. He fell to a knee from the pressure, the boss' strength having increased drastically in the short time.

"Uncle are you okay?" Yui asked with concern as she moved to be next to him, seeing blood drop from his lips as he stayed on his knee.

"That thing injured me more than any regular enemy did, and I was blocking for that attack." He said, not answering her question directly. "The way this is getting to me, I'm not going to last more than a few minutes. And with my sword broken, I'm not going to be able to deal enough damage to finish it."

"You have to, we can't stop now." Yui said, raising her chime up as a golden circle formed below her. Nadar then felt his injuries heal and his health go back up a chunk, Yui's Heal spell having taken full effect. "It's got more damage, but its halberd can still be parried. We just have to avoid the Pus of Man and we can do it."

"That's going to be a challenge if it relies on it to get us quickly." Nadar responded. "Get back, if you go down than my option for healing is gone. I can figure something out, just be ready to cast a Heal if I get too low."

"But you-!" Yui began to argue, stopping as she saw Gundyr lunge at them, going high into the air. "Watch out!"

"Crap!" Nadar shouted as he saw the boss reach them, pushing Yui away at the last second to protect her. With himself open, the serpent's head latched its jaw around Nadar and bit down, drawing blood rapidly as it lifted him into the air. "AAAHHH!"

"Uncle no!" Yui screamed out as she got back up, shaking as she heard him scream out in pain.

 _'Damn it, its bite burns like fire… I can't break free!'_ He thought as he tried to push it in its mouth, getting no ground as it clamped down harder. _'I was expecting trouble going into a Dark Souls themed game, but what am I supposed to do against this? It's even stronger than it was in the actual games!'_

"I'll get you out of there uncle, just hang on!" Yui shouted to him, his eyes widening when he heard her call out.

 _'She's not even scared? I know she knows how to fight it, but her stats aren't high enough to actually challenge this thing is it?'_ He'd question, wondering just where Yui's courage was coming from. And as he looked down to her, he saw that she was actually shaking, nervousness on her face. _'She's… actually trembling?'_

Seeing her scared, Nadar began to try pushing against the serpent's jaw again, his eyes slowly narrowing as he grunted in exertion. _'She shouldn't even have to be fighting right now, I promised her I'd handle it.'_

 _"But I just wanted to say… thank you."_

 _'I promised I'd fight and save them.'_

 _"He's right, we owe you that much at least."_

 _'I… I promised…!'_

Freeing his right arm, Nadar stabbed his broken blade into the beast's eye, getting it to shriek in pain. It'd begin to flail him every direction, attempting to dislodge the blade while also biting down harder on him.

"Thanks for reminding me something you stupid sludge!" Nadar shouted as he let go of the sword's handle and elbowed the edge of the serpent's jaw, getting it to loosen its bite before reaching for his pocket. "I almost forgot just why I fought the way I did in SAO!" Pulling out one of his bombs, Nadar pulled the fuse with his teeth and heard the contents begin to react.

Just as it was about to go off, the player punched his arm into the serpent's eye, pushing through as he clenched onto the bomb. "I fight without hesitation so that my family doesn't have to take the damage!" It that next second the bomb went off, causing a small explosion that severely damaged the serpent, causing it to throw Nadar away and back towards Yui.

The explosion had taken away most of the boss' health, but had also taken Nadar's right arm with it, up to his forearm gone. Yui was about to heal him, but was stopped as he grabbed her shoulder. "Save it for after this." He said, standing back up as he saw Gundyr's serpent limb begin to recover, the black mass replacing what it had lost.

"Uncle, take this." Yui said, getting his attention as she held her mace out to him. "It should be able to deal enough damage if you hit the right spot." That brought a smile to Nadar as he unequipped his shield and grabbed the mace.

"I'll be sure to put it to good use." He spoke, turning back to Gundyr as he began to run at them. Without hesitation, Nadar would return the charge, watching carefully as he saw the serpent open its jaw again.

 _'I had almost forgotten why I was as dangerous as I was back then.'_ Nadar thought as he stomped his feet on the ground, watching the serpent shoot out at him. _'Two months in that painful reality weakened me, but I won't let that happen anymore!'_

Shifting his body to his right, Nadar narrowly dodged the beast's attempt at clamping down on him again. As Gundyr's normal head got in range, Nadar began to shout in rage as he swung the mace up, aiming for his head. "Stay away from my niece!" In his bellow, he struck with as much force as he could right at the boss' head. A sickening crack was heard as Gundyr's head nearly spun a full 180, his red eyes returning to nothing as the serpent began to shake in the air.

Its eyes too dimmed away and the boss' body collapsed backward, dissipating into dust and blowing away. Nadar could only stand there as he saw it disappear, dropping the mace as he felt himself come to terms with the situation. _'That was the first obstacle in my way, and I doubt it'll be the most difficult.'_

"Uncle?" Yui asked in concern as she gently took his hand, looking up to him. He was in bad condition; the bite wounds having dug deep in his avatar and blood all over him.

Hearing her concern, Nadar smiled down to her and returned her hold. "I'm sorry I was so pitiful at the start of that fight. I promise you, for the sake of Asuna and Kirito, I won't let that ever happen again." Seeing him smile brought one to the girl's, hers much brighter as she saw the confidence he had back then on him. "That was brave of you to stand up, I'm proud at how much you helped me."

He then chuckled as he moved to pat her head. "But from now on, stick to being on support, I don't think your mommy or daddy would be happy with me if I let you get hurt. Okay?"

"I promise I'll be the best support I can!" Yui responded, appearing determined as she looked up to him.

"I have no doubt you will." He then let his arm hang limply, turning towards the center of the arena. A bonfire had spawned where the boss had started, missing a coiled sword. At that same time, the same sword he removed from the boss appeared in his inventory, giving him the idea of what to do next. "Yui, can you heal me now? I think I know what to do next."

"Sure thing uncle." Yui said before activating Heal again, recovering some of Nadar's health and allowing him to freely use his arm without trouble.

The two then walked up to the fire as Nadar pulled the coiled sword from his inventory, flipping it to hold it in a reverse grip. And with a bellow of anger, he stabbed the blade into the fire, the action completely restoring him and bringing his right arm back. A flicker of flame went across his body as the fire coursed around the sword, his strength returning as he stared down to the flames. Standing up to his full height, he placed his hand just over the flame, feeling the action start to make his body feel lighter until he and Yui both vanished, leaving the area to continue on their mission.

The Executioner was set on reaching on Anor Londo, and he will burn everyone that gets in his way to get there.

* * *

 **(A/N): So... my first Dark Souls chapter. Not gonna lie, it was a mixed bag for me to do. I enjoyed the fighting, but it was also difficult figuring out a good way to incorporate everyhing without going in impossibly deep context. Also it felt awkward writing Nadar with a sword and shield rather than an axe or any heavy weapon. That won't be a problem for long, but I'll probably take a break for a week or two to focus on my story Abysswalker. Although I'll still have inspiration for both stories, so another chapter might come out, but for now it's a temporary hiatus. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I've kept your interests. Peace!**


	26. Gear Up

"I just can't believe Nadar of all people was willing to jump right back into a VR game without a second thought." Hachiman sighed after Klein explained his group's side of their plan. "He was paranoid at the idea of even looking at his old NerveGear, I didn't expect him to put it back on."

"Are you really that surprised?" Klein asked. "He's been down in the dirt ever since we got out, and this is the first chance he has to get back up. What happened to Asuna and Kirito really hurt him, he needed this."

"But why not come to all of us?" Sachi responded. "I know it's been difficult but… I didn't think he'd just brush us off and try to do everything by himself."

"What part of that is out of character for me?" Nadar asked as he appeared from the ashes of the spawn bonfire, Yui forming behind him out of the others' sight. "I've always done stuff like this, I'm surprised you're all questioning this."

"You finally made it." Klein commented, crossing his arms as he did. "What took you so long?"

"I… had a bit of a detour." He said, not going into detail on his fight against Gundyr. "But I'm here now, has Leafa made it yet?"

"She'll be here in a minute." Anra answered. "Recon was adamant on coming with her so they're having a bit of a delay in dealing with the mobs."

"Guess I'm not that late after all."

"Nadar, are you sure you're okay?" Sachi asked, stepping up to him. "You've been so against ever stepping into VR ever since we got out. I thought you'd never step in again."

"I'm not okay Sachi, but running from it isn't going to help." He stated, smiling to her as he patted her head. "I should be asking if you're okay honestly. Something must be wrong if you came into a game where undead are the main monsters you have to kill."

"I couldn't just let you do this all by yourself, this is as much my fight as it is yours." She answered, looking up to him with determination. "Kirito and Asuna are stuck in here, and I won't let you do everything to save them alone. I won't put that burden on you again."

"And I couldn't let that happen either." Silica added in, surprising Nadar as he realized she was here. "You looked so defeated for the past two months, I couldn't stand seeing you like that and I… I had to do something."

"Silica, you of all people shouldn't be here." Nadar spoke, pointing to her. "Your recovery hasn't finished yet, you still need crutches to get around! You shouldn't have put on the NerveGear!"

"I won't stand by and do nothing!" Silica shouted back, everyone caught off guard by the outburst. "You and Kirito have helped me ever since we got stuck in SAO! And even when I was on the front lines with you I was barely doing anything to help! And Asuna was always nice to me, she's like another sister to me and I… I…"

Seeing Silica start to cry, Nadar walked up to her and hugged with a single arm, feeling her return the embrace. "Hey, there's no need to cry. I'm sorry I shouted at you, I forget sometimes that I'm the one who's used to being yelled at and not you."

"I just… I don't want you to think I can't help." Silica sobbed.

"I never thought that, I was just worried back in SAO for your well being." He smiled as he patted her head between her ears. "I guess I wasn't doing too good of a job, I must have made you doubt yourself back then. And I guess I don't have room to talk anymore after how I've acted the past two months."

He then stepped back a bit from her, wiping her tears away as he regarded everyone. "I didn't want to get all of you involved, I'm used to thinking my problems are just mine. But I sometimes forget, just because it's my problem doesn't mean it isn't any of yours either."

"Even if we didn't, we wouldn't hesitate to help." Hachiman nodded, smirking to him. "I hated getting trapped in SAO, but now that lack of control is gone and I can feel confident in my choices again. And what better way than starting off with rescuing our friends?"

"I'm not the best with my sword, but if Hachiman is dedicated to help, then I'll give my all as well." Anra stated, her hand going to her straight sword as she did.

"Hey guys!" The entire group turned as they heard a voice call out, and turned to see two players running towards them. The one at the front was a blonde female elf with green eyes, she had on a set of green and white cloth armor. At her hip was a thin scimitar, signaling her an Agility/Dexterity build.

Behind her was a male elf that was shorter than most of the group, wearing a similar set of cloth armor but minus the cape the girl had. He had a regular hood up, although the traces of his green hair were still visible. His weapon was much more hidden, but Hachiman and Silica identified the dagger on his hip.

"Leafa, that you?" Nadar asked, recognizing the details Suguha told him to look out for.

"Yeah, that's you right Nadar?" Leafa asked in return, getting a nod in response. "Sorry I was so late, we ran into a bit more trouble than we were expecting. A pair of Darkwraiths tried to ambush us, but we managed to scare them off. I didn't keep everyone waiting long did I?"

"No, you're good." Klein said, rubbing the back of his head. "Everyone was done drilling into my head the stupidity of us all going alone, and Nadar only showed up a couple minutes ago."

"Did it take you awhile to load in?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Nadar responded, looking over to her friend. "So who's the midget?"

"I'm Recon, Leafa's partner here." He introduced, getting approached by Silica.

"Hi Recon, it's nice to meet you. My name's Silica."

"My name's Hachiman."

"I'm Sachi."

"Yo, the name's Klein!"

"And I'm Nadar." The group quickly introduced, Anra having already known Recon due to being in the same guild.

"So are we all set?" Leafa asked. "We can get back to Volrun in around twenty minutes with all of us together. From there we can get you better equipment and then head out to Anor Londo."

"Almost, someone's got cold feet." Nadar said as he looked back to Yui, motioning her with his head to step up. "Come on, no one's going to bite ya. It's family and friends after all."

The girl was hesitant, mostly nervous to confront everyone again after two months had gone by. But eventually she walked up past Nadar, shocking all the former SAO players as she looked to Sachi. "H-Hi mommy… I'm back."

"Y-Yui?" Sachi stuttered back, her eyes widening as she began to shake. "Yui!" She didn't hesitate to crouch down to Yui's level and hug her close, tears going down her face as she held her. "Yui you're okay! I thought… I thought you were deleted when Nadar's avatar was destroyed and… and…"

"It's okay mommy." Yui smiled as she cried as well.

"So your data didn't get wiped then?" Hachiman asked, the group giving the pair time to release their emotions.

"Apparently not, a draw of the luck if anything." Nadar admitted. "Our stats are ridiculous here. My sword already completely busted because it couldn't handle my strength."

"Hopefully this Vincent has some good equipment for us, and maybe a few spells to hand out as well." Hachiman said, looking at his staff. "I only have Soul Arrows, I can tell it won't be easy if that's what I'm left with."

"I don't know how magic works, but I'll take your word for it." Nadar shrugged, looking back to Sachi and Yui with a guilty expression.

 _'Kirito should be the one here with them, not me.'_ He thought, clenching his fist before turning north, seeing the tallest point of Anor Londo far in the distance. It was still a long shot, but he knew that his brother and Asuna were the blurs. But there was too many questions running through his head to think on why Sugou kept Kirito as well. He'd have to stay focused though, as he had to get to the castle before he could figure anything else out.

* * *

"God! Damn! It!" At the peak of Anor Londo's castle, the sound of metal clashing against metal could be heard, the shouting following it after each ring. In the castle, Kirito was swinging constantly at the prison bars that held him, a massive swordspear in hand. He was wearing a set of faded gold armor with ragged wrappings, waistcloth and crown finishing his gear.

Kirito had been swinging his swordspear constantly since their entrapment; whenever he wasn't resting to recover he was striking at the bars with everything he had. But no matter the swings the bars wouldn't give in, despite the countless scratches and bends it had from it. It wasn't immortal like most world objects, but its strength was showing to test the swordsman's limits at every corner.

Across from him, Asuna sat in her confinement silently, looking down to the table as the ringing kept going. She had on a set of royal white cloth that covered most of her body, her midriff exposed. She was decorated with golden jewelry on her wrists, ankles and arms, a smaller crown on her head to finish the outfit.

"Damn it…" Kirito panted after nearly twenty minutes of swinging, his arms dropping as he still held onto the swordspear. Looking down to his weapon, he narrowed his eyes while clenching it tightly. "Two months and I still can't get through the stupid metal. If this weapon wasn't as heavy as it was I could be hitting it twice as much in half the time."

"I'm impressed you're still swinging at it." While Asuna kept her head down at hearing Sugou speak up, Kirito turned his glare to the man as he walked into the massive prison room they were in, unfortunately on the other side of the cages. He had on a royal set of armor known as the Great Lord set, the same set placed onto the final boss Gwyn in the first Dark Souls, and the presumptuous title he gave himself.

"Why not get a bit closer to see how I do it?" Kirito spoke through gritted teeth, managing another swing despite his fatigue.

"I'll pass on the opportunity, but feel free to continue on with your fruitless effort." Sugou smirked as he turned to Asuna's cage, opening the door and entering. "The constant sound of metal going off must be rather irritating, I'm sure you've been bothered by it?"

Asuna didn't respond to him, rather her expression darkened as she looked ahead to the bars. That caused Sugou to smirk, walking next to her while placing a hand on the table. "The silent treatment my dear Qwynla? That's rather unbecoming of you."

"Stop calling me by that name Sugou." She ordered, not looking to him as she did.

"Oh come now, you really need to relax more." He smirked. "In here we're Lords, the equivalent of gods among any players. And I am the Lord above all: Gwyn the Lord of Cinder. Why not enjoy the taste of godhood my dear queen?"

"Back off you bastard." Kirito growled, slashing the swordspear across the bars again.

"Such fire, truly why I had to remove you from those escaping." He added. "You were the perfect fit to be the Nameless King, who is rumored to be fighting in here throughout time. And those attacks you swing only add to the reality of that. I had hit the jackpot with the timing of your victory over Kayaba."

"If I wasn't in this cage I'd-!"

"Do what? Cut me down?" Sugou questioned. "I'm the admin, you have no power over me. Here no matter what I'm God, anyone else doesn't stand a chance."

"You think you're powerful, but you wouldn't stand so tall if he was here. You're nothing compared to Kayaba, and he pushed him to his absolute limit!"

"Who, that "notorious" Executioner of Aincrad?" He chuckled, shrugging as he did. "It says a lot that you'd feel such inspiration from a coward like him. Truly you must have been desperate in SAO to rely on him."

Sugou then flinched as Asuna spit on his face, glaring up to him. "Nadar wasn't a coward. He looked death in the eyes and never even flinched. Anything you could make into a boss, he'd fight it with his bare fists if he had to."

"You learned rather rude habits from him, I can tell." Sugou responded as he wiped the spit off. "But your faith is horribly placed. When he found out what happened to you, he wouldn't even raise a finger to confront me. Rather he just crumbled like the weakling that he is."

"W-What did you say?" Asuna questioned, both her and Kirito staring at shock at Sugou's words.

"Oh that's right, I never told you." He grinned, walking towards the opening in the wall that overlooked all of Lordran. "In a benevolent act, I spared your precious executioner's life from a fate he very much deserved. But perhaps that was a fitting punishment, seeing how frail and powerless he is now."

"You're… you're wrong. He isn't weak."

"Oh but he is. I practically told him what I had done and he didn't do anything to even retaliate." Sugou spoke, chuckling as he did. "Oh you should have seen it, he was in so much shock he couldn't even speak. And when he just couldn't handle it he broke down and cried! He knows I have the power and didn't do anything about it!"

"You're underestimating him." Kirito stated, glaring at him. "Now that he knows, you should watch your back. You're his top priority now, and trust me it won't be pretty when he catches you."

"Hmph, I'm shaking in my boots." Sugou said before looking to the time, sighing as he walked out of Asuna's cage. "Unfortunately, I have business I must attend to. I'll be back later to check up on you. Oh and remember, I was the one who saved him, a token of appreciation would be fitting considering how much you two seem to care for him."

The moment Sugou walked out of the prison, Asuna looked back down to the table and smiled, tears of relief running down her face as she no longer needed to compose herself. "He's… he's alive. Nadar didn't die…"

"It'd take more to do him in." Kirito smiled as he sighed in relief, collapsing down and sitting on the concrete floor. "If he's alive, I know he's going to be coming for us. Sugou doesn't know the storm that he just brought on this game."

"I wouldn't doubt it for a second."

* * *

"Hey Vince, we're here!" Leafa called out as she opened the door to the shop. It was a surprisingly spacious area, larger than Lisbeth's shop back on Aincrad by about twice, lined completely by swords, bows, staffs, daggers and armor of all kinds.

 _'This place looks like it's lacking in heavy weapons.'_ Nadar noted as he looked around, not seeing a single axe in the shop that could compare to the ones he wielded in SAO.

"Leafa, it's good to see you!" Vincent responded as he came out from the back of the shop. He was a human with black hair and blue eyes, wearing brass armor similar to Anra and a mace attached to his waist. "Wow… when you said you had a few friends coming I… wasn't expecting this many."

"Yeah, sorry about that." She laughed awkwardly. "It was originally supposed to be just Nadar and Klein, but some of their friends caught on and joined."

"Well, I'm still sure I have what you'd need!" Vincent responded, looking to the group of new players. "Feel free to look around! I got dozens of armor and sword types! And if your looking for some spells, I got a library in the back that you can choose them from."

"That's for us." Hachiman said as he looked to Yui and Sachi. "We'll come out for other equipment, we should get some spells and Miracles to start though."

"Come on Yui." Sachi nodded, the three heading for the back while the others began to look around.

"Where would your katanas and heavy armor be?" Klein asked, looking among the straight swords.

"Katanas are on the top shelf near the counter. And heavy armor is on the left next to the maces." Vincent answered, turning back to Leafa as the two stood at the entrance. "So, does Siggard know about this?"

"Not exactly, I just told him I'd be busy for a bit." Leafa responded, looking to him. "There's something important going on and I promised Nadar that I'd help him."

"Which one's Nadar?"

"This one." Nadar spoke up as he raised his hand, walking up to them. "Yo pretty boy, I'm noticing a lack of axes here. Got anything more in the heavy department?"

"Oh right, sorry there isn't a whole lot of axes in this area." Vincent said. "The players I trade with also don't offer many weapons heavier than a greatsword."

"I just asked if there was any you had, not the reason for the lack."

"Sorry, right over here." Vincent spoke as he led the player to a large chest, opening it up to reveal a pile of weapons. "Most players here don't use greatswords, most of the Sun covenant prefer a longsword or shortsword. So I don't leave any out on display. But if you're looking for heavy…"

He then grabbed onto one of the weapons and pulled it out, showing it to Nadar. "This is the heaviest greatsword I have in stock. After this I don't have anything to compare."

Nadar looked at the weapon with a raised eyebrow, seeing the chipped pieces of the sword and even rounded tip. "That thing looks like it's not even a sword, its busted and doesn't even have a real edge to it."

"That's the point behind it, it doesn't slash as good but it can hit real hard." Vincent said as he tossed it to Nadar, hiding his surprise at how easily Nadar caught it. "It's called the Executioner's Greatsword, it got dull from killing so many people but still retains its power."

"Executioner's Greatsword?" Nadar echoed, holding the blade over him as he looked at it. He then smirked as he placed it on his shoulder, looking over to Vincent in amusement. "You have no idea how ironic you are right now. I'll take this though."

"Great, and what about armor?"

"I'll figure that out myself. I'll leave you to continue your conversation with Leafa." Nadar stated, walking over to the different armor rakings. Even with his weapon's lighter weight, he still didn't want to go over the top with armor. He was built to lift heavy objects, not wear them and maneuver properly like Klein or Agil was in SAO.

* * *

In a couple minutes, most of the group had what they were looking for. The first to get their full equipment was Klein, who was wearing full body samurai armor with black plating, a regular katana attached to his hip. The black didn't match with him, but according to Vincent there was no way to customize armor yet, so he was stuck with the unflattering color.

Next was Silica, who with Recon's help was able to find good red and yellow cloth armor with a silver gauntlet for her light build. He also recommended the same dagger he had, to which she accepted and bought similarly. The simple interaction brought a glare from Nadar, causing the boy to flinch in fear while Silica sighed tiredly.

Shortly afterward, Sachi and Yui finished their Miracle and equipment gathering. While Yui went with a light black and blue set of cloth armor, Sachi went with a set of medium silver armor. It was edged and sharpened at certain points, but overall was still mobile and left her room to work with. She had gotten herself an Astora straight sword, while Yui had a small but manageable broadsword.

Hachiman had went and gotten a set of brown cloth armor known as Conjuror armor, the hood going over and hiding most of his face. He got a magic catalysts that was a lengthened staff with a bladed end, serving as a weapon should he need it.

The last one to get their equipment was Nadar, who was just walking up to Vincent wearing a medium set known as the Undead Legion set. It was the lightest set he could find in the category, and it served to properly balance his style. It had a single shoulder guard on his left shoulder and a metal gauntlet on the same arm. Behind him was a tattered red cape, the color fading across the entire gear from what appeared to be ash on him. The only thing left out was the hat that came with it, as he refused to where it.

"Is there anything else you need?" Vincent asked. "Everyone else bought some consumables and buffed their gear. What about you?"

"How much can you upgrade the sword you gave me?" Nadar asked, pulling the weapon out from under his cape and placing it on the counter.

"Up to ten times, but considering the price everything else will be you might want to make it just five."

"Money…" Nadar mumbled as he opened his menu, looking at his inventory. "Are souls the currency in this game?"

"Yep, although you also use it to level up your stats faster."

"That shouldn't be a problem." Nadar responded, looking back to him. "Set this up to ten, and give me five of all of the consumable buffs you have."

"Wow, hold up there man." Vincent said, surprised by the amount of requested supplies. "The equipment itself is probably going to take out most of what you have as a new player, and you should put whatever you have left into your stats like your friends. They're now at least better balanced thanks to that."

Nadar didn't respond as he transferred 500,000 souls to Vincent, shocking him at the amount. "I'm not interested in leveling myself, I was already more than a few ahead of them so now we're about equal. As for my money you should see I don't have a lack of it."

"I… I don't know what to say. This is more than the amount of souls your equipment costs and I… do you want the rest back?"

At Vincent's question, Nadar looked over to the weapon racks and his eyes came across a rapier, seeing the thin blade pointing down. "How much for that rapier and to level it up five times?"

"That? It's a basic one so it won't cost much. And even then you'll have plenty of souls left over."

"Than add another fifteen of the consumable buffs with it." Nadar said as he walked over and grabbed the rapier, the holster forming on his right hip. Feeling the weight, he grew a somber expression, thinking back to the last time he held a rapier.

 _'It's almost as light as hers too.'_ He thought, taking great care of it and sheathing it on his hip. The notification of the equipment being transferred to him and the weapons leveling up then came up, signaling that Vincent finished the trade between them.

"That's a rather interesting build you have." Vincent commented, Nadar walking back and grabbing his greatsword. "Used one like it before?"

"No, I had a friend who used a rapier in the last game I played." He admitted, placing the sword back on his back and below his cape. "It just feels good having it with me, I don't know the first thing on how to use one."

Nadar then walked out, meeting everyone outside. "So are we all set up to go now? Or is there something else we need to do before heading out?"

"We should be good, unless you have something else you need." Leafa responded.

The players all shared a glance to one another, and when none spoke up it served as the confirmation to get moving. Anra and Leafa took the lead, directing everyone to the northern end of the city.

"The nearest bonfire is about three hours out from here." Anra explained, looking back as they stopped at the edge of the city to explain. "Once we get there, we can rest and log off. As long as we're within ten feet of it we won't have to worry about being left open to an ambush."

"Three hours? There isn't a quicker way out?" Klein asked.

"Unfortunately that's out of the question." Leafa said. "There's a forest between us and the bonfire, it's notorious for having PvP guilds waiting for players to come for an ambush. And it's too late in the day to risk running into one of the higher rank guilds."

"How long would it take us if we went straight through?" Nadar questioned.

"Well… I'd say it'd cut the time in half at least." Leafa guessed. "But these guys that we'd run in to, there's no telling who it might be. We're safe from the Abyss Watchers; they only target people if there's a bounty on them. But there's some really nasty guys in the rest of the forest."

"If it cuts time in half then let's just go through it."

"You did listen to her right? We're not talking of casual players. This forest can have some of the more elite ranks in this game." Anra stated, raising an eyebrow as Nadar walked past them.

"Oh I heard, but frankly my dear I don't give a damn." He shrugged. "We have a large group here, I don't know how good you, Leafa and Recon are, but the rest of us have hold our own against the most dangerous killers in SAO. I think we can handle a few PvP players wanting to test their luck."

"A-Actually, there's something I need to do back here." Recon admitted, getting the group's attention.

"Wait, you do?" Leafa asked.

"Yeah, you see I-"

"Leafa! Anra!" A calm voice called out, interrupting Recon from explaining. Approaching the group was a party of three players, wearing a mix of different plated armors and weapons. At the lead was a man with black hair and red eyes, standing around the same height as Klein.

"Oh, um… hi Siggard." Leafa responded to him, her and Anra stepping up from the others to talk.

"What's this I hear about you two leaving the party?" He asked.

"We promised a few of our friends we'd get them to Anor Londo, they have business there and we're going to be their guides." Anra explained, motioning back to everyone. "We should be done in about a week, so there shouldn't be a problem with us going."

"Don't you understand how much the others are going to be upset over that? Even if it's only for a few days, the fact you both are going to be missing our next hunt is going to effect moral among the party.

"You said there wouldn't be a problem if we left at any time, you gave that offer to everyone."

"Yes, but this sudden leave could have greater impact on the party as a whole. Our entire reputation could be in jeopardy if you leave like this."

"Then your party must have some problems." Hachiman stated, narrowing his eyes as he did.

"What did you say?" Siggard responded, glaring at Hachiman.

"If two people can change your party that much, then you yourself have bigger issues to address." Hachiman continued. "A party shouldn't just be comprised of a few competent players and the rest simple followers. The entire group should be working their hardest to improve, not rely on the few higher levels to do everything for them. Nothing good comes from having a dependency like that."

"And where do you, a new player, think you can stand in how I manage a party?" Siggard demanded.

"On grounds higher than you ever could reach."

 _'You still blame yourself for that over me.'_ Nadar thought as he stared at Hachiman's back with sympathetic eyes. Him and Sachi both knew that Hachiman held himself to an impossible standard in leadership after the death of the original Moonlit Black Cats, that sense of responsibility still there despite the time that's passed.

"You should watch you tongue, your speaking to the military leader of the Warriors of Sunlight, I have authority over you." Siggard warned. "If you speak out like that again, I can have you labeled a heretic and banish you from the faction."

"You know, why should he watch what he says?" Nadar asked, stepping up past the others to stand next to Hachiman. "Hachiman knows Anra in person, to a personal level in fact. And Leafa's a friend of ours as well, so if anything we have more ground in regards to them than you."

"You will have no say in this, Gravelord Servant." Siggard said with spite, getting Nadar to raise an eyebrow.

"When you're in the capital of your faction, you can see the standing of any players that are in it." Leafa quickly explained to him, getting a confirmation nod.

"Oh, I think I'll have plenty to say about this." Nadar grinned, stepping ahead of Hachiman. "I'll let you know now, I've dealt with players that act like you. Made it big and now feel like they're untouchable, not even bothering with the players they don't know about. After all, if you don't know their name, what's the point of them?"

"Where are you getting at?"

"Well I could go into a lot, but I'm in a hurry to get to Anor Londo so I'll keep it brief." Nadar then narrowed his eyes, the faintest traces of embers forming around them as he did. "Leafa and Anra are coming with us, they made the choice to help us and I won't let a controlling bastard like you stop us."

"Is that a threat?" Siggard questioned as he reached for his sword, unsheathing it and aiming it at Nadar. "I will not take that from a bone following freak like you. You have no power here, and should know your place."

"Listen buddy, last time someone challenged me to a duel while being creepily controlling it didn't turn out well for him." Nadar warned as he smirked, staring at the tip of the blade without flinching. "So I'll give you the same warning I gave him: How about saving the humiliation of getting planted firmly into that building over there and I make your face look ten times worse."

"I'd like to see someone like you try."

Nadar looked back to the group, almost as if asking permission to do so. Almost everyone nodded and shrugged, confusing Leafa and Anra at the silent interaction before he turned back around.

"Well, I normally don't do this, but I'll give you to the count of three to put that sword down." Nadar smirked, holding up one finger as he began counting. "One…"

"Your insane, you won't have the chance to even draw your rapier." Siggard stated, noting Nadar's weapon on his waist.

"Two…"

"If you make a move I'll gut you like a fish, you won't even have the chance to blink before-"

"Three!" In the second Nadar finished he lunged forward, narrowly dodging Siggard's blade and getting a cut across his entire chest. However, the player didn't even react as he pushed Siggard's arms open, gripping onto his sword arm. And in one fluid motion, Nadar twisted his body and threw Siggard onto the ground, the impact enough to make him bounce of the dirt.

As he was going back into the air, Siggard caught a glimpse of Nadar reaching behind his cape, and in the next second he was hit with the full impact of Nadar's sword. The damage was minimum since they were in a safe zone, however the force sent him rolling and crashing back into the building across from them.

All of the players around watching stared in shock at Nadar as he remained in the finished posture of his attack. Standing up to his full height, Nadar smirked at Siggard as he coughed a bit of blood out, sheathing his greatsword on his back as he did.

"From now on, you'll fuck off when I tell you too. Get it?" Nadar spoke up, giving a quick glare to Siggard's party members to scare them. "So are we done here, cause I have a lot better things to do then deal with a couple of elitist pricks spending their time stewarding others."

"That's… Asashi?" Anra asked in shock, the confident fighter in front of her being the farthest from what he was like in real life.

"Yep, and that's why nobody wanted to mess with him back in SAO." Klein grinned, happy to see Nadar back in his element.

"I told you he was one of our top players, but I didn't mention what he did on the Assault Team." Hachiman continued. "He was the best tank we had, he could take hits from bosses that would nearly kill others and shrug it off. He's not the same frail kid in VR that you know in the real world. In here, he has the strength of ten players."

 _'But he isn't the god some people hold him up to be either.'_ Hachiman thought to himself, the memory of Nadar's two deaths replaying in his head while Nadar shrugged his cape to the side. He then shook his head, looking down to his staff as he tightened his grip. _'I won't let that happen again, you're done carrying this burden alone Nadar.'_

"Hope my message got across to you." Nadar left one last shot at Siggard's pride as he turned away, walking back to the group. "So are we done debating now? The longer we stay here the less time Asuna has."

"Well I… I still need to stay." Recon brought up. "There's something I have to look in to, something that doesn't feel right. Vincent and I will try to catch up, but we don't know how long we'll be busy for."

"Are you sure Recon?" Leafa asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He nodded before looking to Nadar. "Listen, Nadar, I don't know what Siggard will try to do to you, but he might make Leafa and Anra heretics after this. And if that's the case, all of the PKers will target them, so you better watch after them!"

"Hey, we can take care of ourselves just-"

"Sure thing kid." Nadar responded, punching Recon's shoulder. "Just go whatever you got to do and catch up, we won't be waiting."

"Right, good luck everyone!" Recon shouted as he ran off, leaving the group as he moved with a purpose.

"Bye Recon! Thanks for the equipment recommendation!" Silica called out to him before he disappeared from sight.

 _'I should've wringed his neck instead.'_

"Nadar, you got that look again." Sachi responded, surprising him at the call out.

"What face?"

"Your "Protective Big Brother" face you always glared at Kirito with when we were together."

"I do not! You're making that up!"

"And now he's… acting like that?" Anra questioned, looking over to Hachiman.

"Is that weird?" He asked back, rubbing the back of his head. "I think we've basically gotten used to his complete 180 responses. You just need to memorize his reactions to certain people and it becomes normal."

"That sounds crazy and bad for his health."

"We never said his health was good to begin with."

"Oh my god Saizo."

* * *

"Siggard, wait up!" One of Siggard's two party members called out to him as he stormed off, glaring heatedly as he wiped the blood off of his lip.

 _'You damn son of a bitch, making a fool out of me in front of dozens of players. You have no idea what storm you've just brought upon yourself because of that.'_ Siggard thought as he headed straight for the nearest pub, slamming the door open to enter. He walked right to the corner of the pub without hesitation, seeing a cloaked figure spinning a jagged knife between his fingers.

"Well, well, commander of the Sunlight Warriors, to what do I owe the pleasure?" The player asked, looking up to Siggard as he remained seated.

"I have a target for you and your guild, a Gravelord Servant." Siggard stated, getting straight to the point. "He's wearing your uniforms, but he's new, using an Executioner's Greatsword."

"A Servant this far out here? Must be an interesting guy." The player commented as he stabbed the dagger into the table, leaning forward to reveal his glowing red eyes. "The cost is going to be double our normal rate, considering the plan you got going on."

"Stop him before he gets to the first bonfire across the Loden Forest, and I'll triple it." Siggard responded, getting a toothy grin from the player as he stood up.

"Well then, why didn't you just say so?" He asked, grabbing his dagger in his left hand and holding it in a reverse grip. "That price is well worth the hustle, you should've just led with that boss man." He then walked past, the cloak slowly unfurrowing to reveal his red cape and Undead Legion uniform. "This Gravelord Servant is as good as dead."

 _'You think you're powerful, let's see how you deal with the best assassin guild in this game.'_ Siggard thought with a smirk, watching the player leave.

* * *

 **(A/N): Well I must admit, I was not expecting to get this out when I did. I had just finished an Abysswalker chapter and came back to finish this. It isn't the longest, but I feel pleased at least that I didn't let my hiatus go on for too long. This chapter's a little slow, it was hard to think of a way to get the action pumping so suddenly without at least some buildup. But that action will come in the next chapter, as I'm sure it's known what will come.**

 **Fun fact about Nadar's equipment, it's the exact same build I have for my character in DS3. I had actually started playing it before I started writing this pic, and his gear served as the inspiration of his armor changes during Aincrad and was the inspiration for going with big weapons but lower weight equipment. Not really anything special but I thought I'd throw that out there.**

 **Also, there might be a surprise story that will come out at some point. I won't go into details, but it will be another variation of Aincrad's Executioner, the demo title so far being Aincrad's Liberators. Lazy I know, but it's better than my older titles. Anyways I'm not sure when I'll make it, but I'm actually slightly excited in it, but I won't ever let it draw me too much away from this story, as I've gone too far into this to just leave off on an extended hiatus like I have in the past.**

 **And with that done, we conclude this update. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, Peace!**


	27. Tales of SAO: Rose of Fate

"This is stupid." Nadar scoffed as he sat on the couch in their house, feeling himself ready to gag.

"Oh come on, it's fun!" Sachi smiled back before turning to Kirito, holding a piece of chocolate up to him. "Say Ah!"

"Ah!" Kirito chuckled as he opened his mouth, Sachi putting the chocolate in his mouth before he began to chew.

"Why the fuck did Kayaba even put this stupid event in? It boggles my mind how nothing even worthwhile comes from it." Nadar groaned as he shifted and lay down on the couch.

"Because there are some quests that serve to be for commodity purposes." Kirito responded. "This event isn't really that big of a deal, it's just something fun to do."

"Says the two lovebirds looking for an excuse to get a free pass from my wrath." Nadar grunted.

The event mentioned was a simple Valentine's Day event down on floor 47. It was open for the entire day, and after completing it with a single partner you got pair of boxes of chocolate.

The two sword users of the guild had both already completed the quest, a pair of blue and black heart shaped boxes with chocolate in them on the table. While they had done it, Nadar had done nothing but stay in the house, avoiding going outside as if it were the plague.

"Come on Nadar, even you can't be a total grouch about this. After the boss on floor 53, everyone needed the break. And what better opportunity than with someone you love?" Sachi said.

"Puking in the lake over your gushy lover routine."

"Okay that's it, I didn't want to have to do this but you leave me no choice." Sachi stated, standing up as she pointed to the door. "You need to get out and get some fresh air. And there's a perfectly good quest now that you can go on to kill the time."

"What, you're crazy!" Nadar argued, standing up as he did. "I don't want to waste my time walking through that stupid garden of flowers trying to find some stupid item! You know how much I hate doing fetch quests with no benefits! And besides, you need a partner to activate it and there's no one desperate enough to go on it with me!"

"Don't care, your problem." Sachi responded, dropping Nadar's jaw at the simplicity. "You have a choice, stop complaining about Valentine's Day in here or start complaining about it out there. Because Kirito and I are having fun, and it wouldn't kill you to try and have some of your own today."

"Would you believe me if I said it would?" Sachi remained firm in her stance, causing Nadar to mutter curses as he walked towards the door. "This is stupid, I'm getting kicked out again and I didn't even do anything to warrant this crap."

"And don't come back until it's either night or you've completed the quest!" Sachi finished off as he closed the door, getting a last second slam from him.

"Are you sure you're okay with that?" Kirito asked, looking to Sachi as she sighed. "I get you want him to relax, but what are the chances he'll even find someone willing to do the quest? Most players don't even walk up to him."

"I know… I just want him to at least have some fun." Sachi said as she looked down. "He's been holed up in here all day, brooding more than usual just because of the day. I just figured at least going out would clear his mind. And who knows, maybe he'll find someone to go on the quest with."

"If you say so." Kirito responded, seeing that she was slightly bothered at her own decision. At the same time however, he also knew that there was a fair reason to it, agreeing that Nadar did need at least something to do.

 _'Hopefully he can at least relax while he's gone.'_

* * *

"Stupid fucking quest with its stupid fucking rule on this stupid fucking day." He repeatedly cursed to himself as he stood in Floria, kicking dirt away as he kept his hands in his pockets. "Why the hell should I even do this thing? It's not going to fix anything, I'm just in a bad mood today why was that so hard to think of?"

He then sighed as he looked up, the artificial sun, glaring in the corner of his eyes as he did. "I shouldn't have to do this crap, everyone who has a partner's already done it. And no one without one is going to even consider going on it with me?"

"Nadar?" A voice spoke up, getting him to curse internally.

 _'Of. FUCKING! COURSE!'_

"Oh well look who's come to be with the peons, hello Lightning Flasher." Nadar grinned as he hid his annoyance, giving a mock salute to Asuna as she walked up to him.

"Believe me, it isn't a whole lot better seeing you here either." Asuna commented, rolling her eyes as she regarded him. "So are you waiting for Kirito and Sachi to finish the Valentine's quest? I couldn't imagine you down here for any other reason."

"No, they completed it this morning almost immediately after they woke up."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because Sachi kicked me out until I did the stupid fucking thing. I've been waiting here for an entire hour because I don't have anyone to do it with."

"Wait, she's making you do the quest? You of all people?" Asuna mocked as she looked at him, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "I can't even imagine someone being desperate enough to do this thing to go with you."

"Well not all of us can be "Pretty Miss Perfect" like you Lightning Flasher. Some of us prefer to have a personality other than following any given order." He countered, smirking as he regarded her. "So who was the desperate fool you roped into this waste of a time then? You ever brooding sugar daddy?"

"Your one to talk about brooding, and the commander and I are nothing like that." She responded, crossing her arms as she glared at him.

"Sure, sure, keep saying that. Maybe one day I'll believe you." He chuckled. "So if not Gandalf the Grey haired, then who is it?" Asuna looked away in response, Nadar's smirk turning to a grin as he instantly put the pieces together. "Oh that's priceless! You couldn't get anyone to come with you!"

"Shut up ass!" Asuna shouted as she turned and kicked his shin, getting him to hobble on his other leg as he cradled it. "I didn't know about the partner requirement until I got here. And besides, it's not like I know anyone in the KoB personally enough to go on this with."

"Ow, ow, ow." He ticked as he blew on where she kicked. "Jesus, maybe Lightning Flash isn't the appropriate title with a kick like that. Probably Thunder Th-" He then stopped as Asuna pulled her rapier out and held it at his throat.

"You will not finish that sentence."

"Now I can see why no one bothers to get to know you." He said as he placed his foot back down, giving her a half lidded stare as she sheathed her blade. "So what's your goal now? Wait around until some sucker that doesn't know you shows up and asks you to go with him?"

"I was going to, but I'd rather just go home than wait around hours being stuck next to you."

"Ouch, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. It's just a fetch quest, nothing that big of a deal."

"Someone like you wouldn't understand." She said as she turned away, beginning to walk towards the teleport platform.

"Wait." Nadar sighed as he grabbed her wrist, surprising her as he did. "Look, I really don't give a damn about this, but I don't want to stand out here for the rest of the day. And you actually want to go on this stupid thing. And while that's beyond me, it'd work best if we just went together."

"A-Are you seriously saying…" Asuna stuttered, looking back to him as he released her wrist.

"All I'm saying is kill two birds with one stone, nothing more. We go, get whatever the NPC wants, come back, get the reward, and then we act like we never saw each other today. It's as simple as that."

The rapier user stared at Nadar for a minute, studying his gaze as she tried to figure out if there was something more to him. But eventually she gave in and sighed, nodding in agreement to the plan. Nadar took this as the signal to send her a party invite, to which she accepted.

"There, now we can go and get this show on the road." Nadar spoke as he turned to walk towards the NPC for the quest. "Be sure to keep up Lightning Flasher,"

"Will you stop calling me that!?" Asuna called out to him as she moved to follow.

"Not on your life."

* * *

"Wow…" Asuna gasped as the two stopped on the path they were walking. To their side was a small waterfall, hundreds of different flowers blooming around it as a rainbow was formed.

"Meh, it's alright." Nadar shrugged, not paying much mind to it as he was a few feet ahead of Asuna.

"Alright? You're looking at the most realistic thing in this game and all you have to say is it's alright?" Asuna asked, looking at Nadar as if he grew a second head.

"Why do you even care? You think of nothing but getting out of this game, why is sight seeing suddenly an important thing to you?"

"I opened up a bit to it is all, after what happened on floor 50." She stated, getting him to look back to her. "Did it not do anything to you either? We both came close to dying there, if the commander hadn't shown up we'd have been killed."

"It made me remember that I should be focusing on getting stronger. Not much else to it." He said as he looked at her. With the waterfall and flowers behind her, it almost felt like something out of a picture. He wouldn't admit it however, as he turned away and continued to walk.

"Come on, we're almost at the Lover's Garden that the quest is leading us to. We don't have time to bother basking in the beauty of nature."

"Fine." Asuna said as she looked away, turning to the waterfall one last time to memorize the beauty. She then smiled at the bright colors, pushing a bit of hair behind her ear as she went to follow him.

"What're you grinning about?" Nadar asked, seeing the smile on her face as she walked next to him.

"Nothing, I just liked how the flowers and waterfall blended together like they did." She admitted. "It feels nice to drop the vice-commander role for a day and smell the roses."

"…Lilies." Nadar muttered, confusing her as he did. "They're lilies, not roses. Get your flowers straight."

Hearing that caused Asuna to stop walking for a second, not expecting the executioner to know such a thing. She never took him for the type to observe the small differences in an environment, even less when it came to something like flowers.

 _'He's… different then what I remember.'_ She thought, catching back up to him after a second.

* * *

"We're here." Asuna said as the two stopped just short of their goal. There were thousands of flowers all growing in a circle, a small petal at the center while glowing faintly.

In front of the petal was a large plant monster, appearing made entirely out of large flower stems and glowing red eyes. According to the quest, it was known as the Lover's Guardian. A monster plant set here to protect the most treasured flower in the garden, which was the objective to their quest.

"I'll draw its attention and take its attacks. You counter and hit it when it recoils from the clash." Nadar spoke as the two reached for their weapons, taking a step into the circle of flowers and activating the miniboss.

"Got it." Asuna nodded as she prepared an Agility skill, her rapier glowing bright as the Lover's Guardian pulled it's roots out from the ground and ran after the two.

Nadar's axe then glowed red as he ran right at it, swinging his axe to counter its razor grass sword in its hand. The impact from the attacks caused a gust of wind to go off, some of the flowers getting pulled out from the ground and flying off into the air.

The moment after they collided, Asuna instantly shot out and struck her rapier at the monster's chest, knocking it several feet back from her momentum. Asuna was quick to approach and deliver a swift combo of jabs and slashes, retreating back before the monster even had the chance to recover.

 _'She's fast…'_ Nadar couldn't help but think at seeing the impressive speed of the Lightning Flash. He's worked beside her on boss raids all the time, but this was the first time where it was only the two against a single monster. And with the risks low, he was able to pay attention and take note of how easily she was able to overwhelm the miniboss with her speed.

"Switch!" Asuna called out, drawing Nadar out of his gaze as he pressed forward, readying another Strength skill and clashing against the miniboss' next swing. The two then collided for two more blows before Asuna appeared next to Nadar, aiming her rapier at its head and knocking it down.

As she was still in the air, Asuna aimed her rapier down and began to barrage the boss with a flurry of jabs; cutting at the boss' health like it was nothing. As it was about to retaliate, Nadar hit it from its side and sent it away, allowing Asuna to land on the grass gracefully.

"All this speed and you couldn't get away from a single boss in time." He commented as he moved forward, parrying another of the miniboss' attacks.

"Says the guy who boasts about his Strength and Vitality and almost got killed to the same boss as well." Asuna responded, striking the boss in its arm and delivering a quick combo across its body.

As they continued to fight the boss, Nadar couldn't help but grin over the ease of the fight. Working with Sachi and Kirito was efficient, but he couldn't deny that having someone as fast as Asuna around made things even easier.

And the same could be said for Asuna, having never seen Nadar's physical strength being demonstrated outside of a boss fight before. It put the likes of Godfrey to shame, and had her understand how he was considered on par with Heathcliff in regards to their stats.

The miniboss could only last for a few minutes against the combined efforts of the two, both slashing out and cutting the monster in half with one last combo. When it shattered, the fragments slowly glided and landed around the glowing petal, disappearing into the soil.

The petal then began to bloom, revealing a beautiful white rose, a golden glow at the center as if the sun was reflecting off of it.

Asuna was the first to sheath her weapon, approaching the flower and kneeling next to it to get a better look. A menu then popped up when she grabbed the stem, revealing the name of the rose.

"Rose of Fate?"

"Just a cheesy name meant to satisfy the quest." Nadar responded, sheathing his axe. "I wouldn't put much thought into it, most of these quests have generic sounding item names."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Asuna responded as she picked the flower, adding it to her inventory.

"Come on, let's go." He said as he offered her his hand, helping her up to her feet before turning away.

"Sure."

* * *

"Thank you for retrieving my rose." The NPC said as she smiled gently, holding the white flower closer to her heart as she did. "Ever since Feldrin's death, I was too afraid to go and pick it myself. But on this day, the anniversary of his passing, I couldn't let it remain there again."

"Please, I know it's not much, but please accept these as a reward." Each player then had a heart shaped box appear in their hands; Nadar's red with a white cross in it while Asuna's was white with a red cross. "They were Feldrin's favorite, and a true delicacy here on Aincrad. They say it tastes even sweeter when given by a fated lover."

"Yeah, sure they do." Nadar rolled his eyes as the two turned away, the quest completed after the woman's last words. "Here, take it." Nadar said as he handed his box to Asuna, confusing her as he started to walk away.

"You don't want it?" She asked, looking to him as he walked.

"Chocolate's always left a bitter taste in my mouth, not my cup of tea you'd say." He responded, waving behind him as he did.

Asuna looked down to the box he gave her, appearing somewhat guilty before running after him. "Wait!" Nadar then stopped and turned to her, raising an eyebrow when he saw her hold out her box to him.

"I told you, I don't like chocolate."

"At least take it, you don't have to eat it or anything." She said. "I shouldn't be the only one getting a reward, even if you don't eat it we at least both got the same reward for working together."

Nadar looked at Asuna in confusion for a second before sighing, grabbing the box and walking away as he did. "Fine, if it helps you sleep at night Lightning Flasher. Just don't be surprised if it get's destroyed in my inventory."

"Happy Valentine's Day Nadar." Asuna said, getting him to pause fort a second before he continued.

"Yeah, sure. You too Asuna." He said before reaching the teleport platform, vanishing away as he teleported to his guild's house. When he opened the door, Kirito and Sachi were both sitting next to each other on the couch; the former reading from the newspaper while the latter rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm back." He called out, the two jumping in shock as they turned to face him.

"Nadar, you're already back?" Sachi asked, pausing for a second when she saw his cheeks were slightly red. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just got hit by a poison attack was all." He said, rubbing his eyes as he walked past the two to his room. "I'm going to bed, don't wait up at dinner for me."

"Oh… okay. Goodnight Nadar." Sachi said, watching as he entered their room. "I hope it isn't too bad."

"There aren't any poison monsters in the quest." Kirito commented, appearing confused as he put the newspaper down. "He had a box of chocolates, so he did actually do it. But there wasn't anything that shot out poison there, the miniboss was just a Strength based mob."

"That's right… but then what was wrong with him?" Sachi wondered.

After he entered his room, Nadar sat down on his bed and looked down to the box of chocolate. He appeared hesitant, not even that interested in the sweets as they always tasted horrible to him. But whatever was driving him, it was strong enough to get him to open it and take a single piece out.

Tossing it in his mouth, he was preparing for the normal bitterness he was expecting when he was caught off by a sweet taste. Swallowing the candy, he looked down at the rest as he seemed in complete shocked at the taste.

 _'It's… actually sweet…'_

* * *

 _'It's hard to believe… that was almost a year ago.'_ Nadar thought as he looked up to the sky in DSO. He stared up to the sky with nostalgia, remembering the day like it was a distant memory. _'I didn't think of it as anything back then, but I guess the lady was right, wasn't she Asuna?'_

"Hey Nadar!" Leafa called out to him, snapping him out of his gaze as he looked ahead to see the group. "You okay? You just stopped walking out of nowhere."

"Yeah…" He nodded as he looked to the ground, seeing a single lily underneath a tree. "I'm fine. Just remembering something I hadn't thought of in awhile." He then smiled as he turned to walk with everyone, the lily blowing gently as the wind picked up.

* * *

 **(A/N): Not gonna lie, I wasn't originally going to make this. But for the week I felt that doing some kind of special little Valentine's Day chapter would be appropriate, and SAO felt like the most sensible one. Kind of just a small little thing, but I actually enjoyed making it regardless. Hope you enjoyed. Peace!**


	28. Returning Pain

"I don't get it." Nadar said, both his and Leafa's menus open as they walked next to each other. "You mean to tell me that this forest is so dangerous, but we haven't run into a single player since we got here? Not even a hollow is near, why were you two so adamant about us coming this way."

"PvP players normally wipe the area of any NPCs before setting up their ambush spots." Leafa explained. "They don't have the advantage of enemies not attacking them, so they have to clear them out early to avoid getting overrun after eliminating players. That way they can also recover their health before the fight actually starts."

"And the enemies just stay dead for the entire day?"

"Only a few minutes, but if you wipe them out enough they will be gone for a few hours." She stated, pointing to the timer at the top corner of their menus. "When you see this, that means someone wiped out the NPCs within the set area. When it hits zero they respawn and some are even stronger if a player ignites the bonfire for the first time."

"That's just stupid and complicated."

"Yep, that's how you can tell this is Dark Souls." Hachiman chuckled, elbowing Nadar's shoulder as he walked up to him. "Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it eventually."

"You do realize I'm not going to keep playing once we get Asuna and Kirito out, right?" Nadar questioned, looking back to him as his menu vanished. "After this, I'm shelving VR for good."

"Are you sure man?" Klein asked. "I get you're still struggling, but wouldn't being in a game where dying isn't a danger help you out with your stress?"

"VR's the reason I am stressed, how is VR supposed to help fix that?" Nadar asked, looking back to the samurai. "That's like trying to fix PTSD from a war with a shooter game, it messes with you just as bad."

"That's a little extreme of a comparison." Anra replied.

"It's the most accurate thing for me right now." He said.

"Just… let him be for now, okay Anra?" Hachiman spoke, placing a hand on her shoulder as he did. "Nadar can seem to over exaggerate, but he's been through a lot in the past two years. But he also isn't going to do something stupid, he paces himself and this likely isn't any different. He just needs to recover at his own pace."

"If you say so…"

"Ah, so your username is Nadar?" The whole group stopped and pulled out their weapons as a voice spoke up from behind them, seeing a player in the same armor as Nadar plus a pointed metal hat and cloth mask. "I was wondering who we were ordered to go after, at least we got a name now."

"Who the hell are you?" Nadar questioned as his grip tightening on his hilt, his sword still hidden behind his cape.

"The name's Genra, don't wear it down." The player chuckled, grinning at the sight of everyone standing ready for him.

"What are you doing following us?" Klein asked, pointing his katana right at him.

"Why not ask your three friends, they seem to have an idea." Genra motioned to Hachiman, Anra and Leafa in response, the three players all looking around as if expecting something.

"Leafa?"

"He's wearing the full Abyss Watchers' uniform." Leafa stated, a bead of sweat going down her face as she readied her sword. "Which means he's not alone."

"So we're standing in the middle of an ambush?" Sachi asked, getting a stiff nod from her.

"Nothing we haven't gone through before." Nadar said, taking a step ahead of everyone else.

"That's quite the Gravelord Servant attitude, but I wouldn't feel so cocky right now." Genra smirked as he reached back over his shoulder. "We're the top PvP guild in this entire game, and don't think for a second we'll go easy on a bunch of beginners!"

In the next second Genra and Nadar lunged forward, unsheathing their swords and clashing against each other. The Abyss Watcher had his own greatsword, only much longer and sharpened to a point unlike Nadar's. However the difference in appearance did nothing as Nadar was able to push forward, swinging his blade and forcing Genra to back up.

"Nadar wait!" Hachiman tried to reach out to him, but was stopped as several players jumped out from the trees, getting between him and the executioner. "Crap!" He then jumped back, ducking as another player appeared behind him. "Can anyone get a headcount!?"

"There are around 30 players surrounding us!" Yui answered, her and Sachi being separated from the others by a group of four Abyss Watchers.

"Everyone avoid being caught alone!" Anra ordered as she blocked an attack from a player, kicking out and striking his gut. "They're mobile and deal high damage, if they overwhelm you you're going to be taken out in a minute!"

"Pair up, got it!" Klein responded as he quickly swung out, clashing with two Abyss Watchers and holding them back. "Silica, on me! Switch!"

"I got it!" As Klein jumped back, the two players were caught off guard as Silica rushed past them, moving faster than they could follow and cutting across their stomachs. She then turned and dodged swiftly, avoiding the pair's swords before Klein slashed them across their backs, knocking them away.

"Yui, use your miracles and keep too many from approaching." Sachi spoke as she narrowly blocked and evaded three swords, swinging down and knocking one of the player's swords out of their hands. They weren't left with any time as Sachi then moved around him and cut across his arms, legs and chest, finishing with a powerful jab that knocked them into the other two players.

"Okay mommy!" Yui cheered as she held her chime up, a ring of pure light forming above her before she grabbed it. She then threw it at two players, forcing them to dodge. When they moved however, Sachi and Leafa both quickly reached them and slashed across their chests, knocking them back a bit.

"Guy's Nadar's on his own!" Leafa called out as she blocked a swing from a greatsword, her feet skidding across the dirt from the impact.

"Nadar will be fine!" Hachiman spoke as he raised his catalyst up and fired three bolts of magic at a player, damaging him before he dodged an incoming swing from behind him. "If anyone can handle fighting against multiple opponents on his own, it's him!" Hachiman then jabbed out with his catalyst, impaling the player before Anra jumped over him and kicked the player's head, knocking him away.

"Did this happen a lot when you were stuck in SAO?" Anra asked as the two went back to back, being surrounded by seven Abyss Watchers.

"Everywhere we went." He'd say as he created a magic spear around his catalyst, readying himself for when the Abyss Watchers rushed him.

* * *

"Whoa! Talk about a Strength build!" Genra grinned, appearing excited as he ducked under Nadar's attack. "I haven't encountered someone who could knock my attack away with the first hit like that!"

"Then you're clearly not fighting anyone worthwhile!" Nadar shouted as he'd begin to swing wildly at Genra, knocking dirt and rocks into the air as his attacks wouldn't connect. Just as he was about to reach the player his eyes widened and he swung behind him, knocking three greatswords away before they connected.

"Whoa, I take that back." Genra said as he gripped his sword with both hands. "That's not a Strength build, that's a monster build to deflect three players at once. You're not regular noobs are you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Nadar would respond as he'd get into his stance, leaving himself open and daring any of the now six players surrounding him. Nadar's hands began to shake for a second, forcing the player to take in a deep breath to try and relax himself.

 _'It's okay, it isn't like in SAO.'_ He'd think to himself, seeing one of the Abyss Watchers rush him from his left. _'They don't have a NerveGear on, they won't die.'_

When the player got close enough, Nadar would quickly spin on his heel and dodge the swing, slashing out and hitting the player's stomach, knocking him away and into one of the many trees around them. The rest of the players then moved to swarm him, one hitting him and knocking him a few feet away.

Clenching his left hand into the ground, Nadar stopped himself in time to swing forward and block three of their attacks. However Genra was quick to take the opportunity and slash Nadar's chest, knocking him further back and rolling across the dirt.

Nadar rolled around three times before pushing off the ground and gripping his sword with both hands, preforming two swift swings to both block the next attack and hitting two players, separating the forces for a second to recollect his thoughts.

 _'They all have decent health, they aren't like all the criminals back on Aincrad.'_ The executioner would then quickly begin to trade swings with Genra and another Abyss Watcher, his expression determined with a trace of anxiety. _'Why are my thoughts immediately going there? What's happening isn't anything in comparison. They're nothing like them!'_

"Don't get caught up in your thoughts!" Genra shouted as he swung his sword, getting surprised as Nadar reached out and grabbed his wrist, suffering the damage of the attack without hesitation.

"I'm not." Nadar responded, tossing Genra to his left and clashing with the second Abyss Walker, quickly over powering him and knocking him back with a heavy swing. "Just deciding what's the best way to deal with a bunch of gankers like you."

"Oh ho, got experience there bud?" Genra asked, honestly excited over the fight.

"More than you ever will."

 _'It's not the same…'_ Nadar thought as his hands trembled again, keeping his stance composed as he prepared for the next set of attacks. _'So why can't I stop this shaking? What do I have to be afraid of, I can't die.'_

* * *

"On our right!" Anra announced as she ducked, Hachiman piercing through an Abyss Watcher and knocking him away before turning to the approaching three.

"On it!" Hachiman then dispelled his magic spear and waved his catalyst, summoning five magic bolts before rushing after the players. Narrowly dodging and blocking their attacks, he eventually slid between the third player's legs before turning to them, holding his free hand out, activating his spell.

The five bolts then flew and hit the players; two getting hit twice while the third was hit once. When they were stunned from the attacks Anra quickly ran up and impaled through the first player's face, bringing them down and slamming them to the ground. Their avatar then vanished, allowing her to bring her sword back up and block the two remaining players' swings.

"That was a mistake!" One shouted, preparing for another swing.

"So was turning your back on him." Anra smirked as Hachiman was suddenly behind the two, backstabbing the second player and destroying his remaining health. A combo easily took down the final player from the two, slicing him in half before his avatar turned to dust.

"Three down, 27 to go." Hachiman breathed out as he and Anra readied themselves, seeing another three Abyss Watchers ready to fight them.

"Hold." Before the three could move, a gruff voice spoke up amongst the battle stopping them and getting the attention of the other two. What they saw was a player standing at around six feet, a large greatsword on his back with a seriated dagger on his hip.

"What is it Arto?" One of the Abyss Watchers asked, watching as the large player step between the two teams.

"Go help Genra deal with the poser, he's the one we're getting paid for." Arto responded as he unsheathed his blades, holding the greatsword in his right and the dagger in his left. "I want to test these two for myself."

"Sure thing boss man… steal all the fun why don't you…" The player responded before the three of them ran off, leaving Arto to face off with Hachiman and Anra.

"Farron Greatsword, great." Hachiman winced at the weapon combo, getting an amused hum from Arto.

"Played DS3?"

"Yep, and that sword's combos are likely an even bigger pain in VR." Hachiman commented, keeping a close eye on the player as he spun the dagger to hold it in a reverse grip. "And based on the fact you're the only one with one, I'm guessing you're the big guy in charge?"

"Yep, the name's Arto."

"Wait… I thought Genra was the leader?" Anra questioned. "He was the one who moved up first."

"You never send your leader out first." Arto stated. "It makes for a poor strategy to throw your key piece right away, but let's not get distracted by that." Arto's eyes then glowed with a flame as he held his dagger over his arm, aiming the end of his greatsword at them. "Our fight shouldn't be delayed on a confusion of our strategy."

"Watch your feet." Hachiman warned Anra, getting into his stance as he formed the magic spear around his catalyst again. "If that sword has a combo set like it did in DS3, his first two hits skid across the ground. He'll probably mix it, but it's impossible to properly block with our weapon types."

"Got it."

"You done planning? Then let's go!" Arto shouted as he ran at the two, going on the offensive right away. Bringing his sword from the side, Hachiman and Anra were both prepared for him dragging it across the ground and attempting to hit low; both jumping up to avoid the blade.

Just as Hachiman was about to counter however, Arto instantly brought his sword up and slashed across his chest, knocking him back. He then brought his dagger up, blocking Anra's attack with barely any effort.

"Agility and Dex, I'm guessing?" Arto commented as he pushed Anra away, striking across her stomach with his greatsword before kicking her away. "Not a bad combo, but it won't mean much if you can't get past my strength." Arto then looked to the side and brought his dagger up, cutting through three of Hachiman's magic bolts before blocking his spear with his greatsword.

Hachiman grunted as he was pushed away, dodging to the side to avoid his greatsword. The moment he touched the ground, he lunged out and managed to get a cut across his stomach, but was knocked away by a swift blow from his greatsword.

When Hachiman's feet touched the ground, both him and Anra lunged out, the three all engaging in direct combat with increasing speed. While Hachiman and Anra were both fast in their own right, Arto was showing impressive speed and prediction, blocking each of their attacks before returning with his own.

 _'His Strength is the danger, but his reaction timing is incredible!'_ Hachiman thought as he spun around Arto's blade, attempting to pierce his side but getting his spear knocked to the side in return. _'His dual wielding is slower, but he's got a similar style to Kirito. Hit hard and hit fast.'_ Hachiman was then kicked back, avoiding a slash from the Abyss Watcher as Anra cut across his back.

She then ducked to avoid his overarching swing, rolling to the side and jumping back to avoid getting caught in his range of attack. _'We won't get anywhere hitting him like we are.'_ Anra thought as she held her sword in front of her, placing her palm on the blade as she focused her magic.

"We're going to have to be direct in our approach." She spoke as she glided her hand across the sword, enchanting it with lightning.

"Wait, you can do that without a chime?" Hachiman questioned, surprised to see that she did it so simply.

"If the effect is for your faction, you only need enough magic to activate it." She responded, getting into her stance as Arto prepared his next attack. "It would be stronger with a chime, but a buff is a buff. We can't focus on avoiding damage in this fight, we won't get anywhere if we do."

"See, she gets it!" Arto grinned as he lunged at Anra, both delivering an attack and knocking each other a foot away from the impact. "In PvP, rush and fight in the moment! That's what makes this game so much fun!"

 _'Fun? …I almost forgot…'_ Hachiman sighed as he placed his hand over his catalyst, calming himself as he began to enchant it. _'This right now is a game, we have to focus here. He's fighting for the thrill, so we have to combat his thrill with a stronger will!'_

As the two were about to collide again, Hachiman shot out and struck Arto in his side, sending him crashing back into a tree after displaying an incredible amount of speed.

"Whoa…" Anra said, surprised at the movement. "Where'd that speed come from?"

"It isn't brought up much, but I was the second fastest in the Assault Team." Hachiman smirked, winking to her as he planted his feet. "Asuna gets all the attention, but I was in the top five for strongest players, and I intend to show why that is!"

"Assault Team?" Arto questioned, pushing himself up with his greatsword. "What the hell are you on about? Top five in what?"

"Do you really care, or would you want to get back to fighting?"

"Fighting, obviously!" Arto grinned, pulling down the mask over his mouth to broadcast his excitement. "Man this is a rush! That speed you just showed really has my blood pumping!"

"Then try to keep up."

* * *

"You're not half bad lizard breath." One of the Abyss Watchers grinned as he and Klein pushed against each other, sparks coming off of the two's blades as they struggled for superiority.

"You're not that bad yourself, for a couple of cosplayers." Klein would counter as he stepped to the side, causing the player to step forward into an attack that was meant for him. Klein then slashed wide, knocking both players away before quickly turning on his heel, avoiding a downward slash from behind.

The player he dodged only stared in surprise before he was knocked away by Silica, who used her momentum to increase the force of impact and send him crashing back.

"Thanks Silica, they're getting antsy." Klein thanked as he clashed blades with another player, knocking his blade back before kicking him back.

"It's a good thing they aren't the fastest players." Silica responded as she flipped back, easily avoiding one of their blades before pulling out three throwing knives. The player couldn't even react by the time she threw them and he was left shocked that he couldn't move.

"Paralysis!?"

"Yep, it's her specialty!" Klein grinned as he swung his katana in an arc, slashing across the paralyzed player's torso and draining his health to zero. As the player faded to dust, Klein was forced to block two swings from a greatsword, causing him to skid back on his heels.

"They really know how to push with their numbers…" Klein muttered to himself as he readied his sword, clashing blades with the player and landing a blow across their chest. Silica then rushed them from behind and stabbed them in the back, nearly wiping out the rest of their health with the move.

The player reached behind him and grabbed Silica, easily pulling the girl over his shoulder and throwing her at Klein. The samurai caught Silica, putting her on her feet right away allowing them to jump back and dodge his next attack. As they touched the ground, Sachi and Leafa surprised them as they lunged past them, impaling the character and killing him before he even realized it.

"Sachi? Leafa?"

"Watch your backs!" Hearing Sachi's warning, the two quickly turned and deflected two swords from the Abyss Walkers, Klein managing to recover quicker and slash the two away.

"I'm guessing things were getting a little hairy on your end?" Klein asked as he and Silica backed up, the four standing like a barrier while Yui casted a Heal for them.

"We've managed to take down two, but neither of us have the Strength build to counter the greatswords." Leafa explained, holding her scimitar with both hands as the five were surrounded by ten Abyss Watchers. "We figured if all five of us work together we'd have a better chance."

"I mean, I'm not complaining." Klein shrugged, smirking as he watched for the subtle move of one of the players in front of him. "The quicker we take care of these jokers the sooner we get to Kirito and Asuna, so it's best to take care of them quickly."

"Silica, can I ask you to stay with Yui for support?" Sachi asked, getting the girl's attention. "I know you've been doing good fighting, but I can't put all my focus into fighting if Yui's wide open casting her Miracles."

"Yeah, I'll watch over her Sachi." Silica smiled as she took a step back, keeping her guard up as an Abyss Watcher took a step forward.

"This is going to get crazy really fast, think you can keep up?" Sachi asked Klein with a smile, them and Leafa going back to back as they readied for the battle to continue.

"Please, I was keeping up with everyone back on floor 4, this is nothing." Klein flashed a grin back, chuckling as he spun his katana once. "Let's teach these guys why you don't mess with the Assault Team."

"Right!"

* * *

"Wow, you're definitely no slouch buddy." Genra said as he stood across from Nadar, the executioner surrounded by the remaining Abyss Watchers. "There's nearly twelve of us all attacking you, and not one of us have gotten that critical blow yet. You must be really lucky for lasting so long as a new player."

"Not luck, experience." Nadar responded, shifting his feet as he stood ready for the next attack.

"Although I have to admit, it's weird that you haven't taken a single one of us out. I would've figured you would gotten one of us before-" Genra then watched as Nadar spun around, avoiding a player's rapier and punching them in the ribs, sending them crashing into a tree. "Damn, not even dialogue distracts you huh?"

"You're not the first to try that trick." He admitted, although he felt his hands shake at the thought. "Trust me, you're not going to win if you keep this up. So just surrender now and no one has to die."

"Dude, we're playing a PVP encouraged game, dying's in the job description." Genra chuckled. "But if you're getting tired of all the fighting, why don't we all just come at you at once? Alright everyone, get him!"

 _'Damn it, why won't they listen!?'_ Nadar thought with a snarl as all the players charged him, gripping his sword tightly with both hands as he felt his shaking continue. _'And why can't I stop shaking!? This isn't SAO!'_

He then blocked two attacks and spun around, knocking three players away before bringing his sword behind him to block two hits. This left him open to a slash to his chest, getting a grunt of pain from him before he kicked the player in the face. He then spun his blade around him and tossed the two players behind him away, clashing blades with Genra before jumping back to avoid a jab at his side.

Swinging wide, he collided with three other players and caused a small shockwave from the force. The three players with their combined strength were able to keep Nadar from pushing them back, but were caught off guard when he released their blades and let them hit him. The damage wasn't enough to kill him, however his health was nearing 20% before he swung out and hit all three across their chests, sending them flying back.

Seeing two players rush him, he held his sword horizontally to block them, having the strength to push back and kick one away while grabbing the other's wrist. Bellowing out a war cry, Nadar then turned on his feet and swung the player with all his strength, hitting two approaching players with him and sending all three crashing back from the impact.

Nadar was then cut across his side by a dagger, getting a quick reaction from him as he blocked the next attack and kicked the player away. From that latest barrage of attacks Nadar was now at 10%, the enemy's weapons being well above the grade his armor was.

Seeing his health reach as low as it had, Nadar was begging to sweat nervously, swinging to the side to knock an opponents attack away before dodging to his side. He was beginning to feel anxious, his breathing becoming labored as he continued to dodge and block his enemies' attacks.

 _'What is getting into me?'_ He questioned as he knocked a player away, blocking behind him and watching his health go to 8%. _'The lower my health is going, the more paranoid I'm becoming. I won't die from it, the NerveGear's safety feature was turned back on; I watched them do it…'_

He then spun and knocked the player away, dodging away from several slashes from Genra before catching his wrist with his left hand.

"Man, you're really something else." Genra chuckled giddily. "Hey man, after this you should consider joining out guild, I'm sure Arto would love to have some like you to…" Genra then slowed down as he saw Nadar's condition, the cold sweat going down his face as he seemed to struggle to breath. "Wow man, are you okay?"

"I'm… fine!" Nadar shouted as he pushed Genra away, blocking two attacks from players that approached him after he did. Nadar was about to retaliate when he felt a sudden pain in his left leg and caused him to stumble back into a tree. Looking down to his leg, he saw that there was a crossbow bolt in it, turning to see the player with the weapon a few meters away.

When he looked back to his health, he saw that it had dropped all the way to 2%, causing his eyes to widen in panic as his heart rate began to increase. _'Wh-what's wrong with me? I was able to fight just fine back then… why am I getting cold feet now? Why am I scared all of a sudden?'_

 _"Because for once you're on the receiving end."_ Nadar's eyes widened even further as he heard the voice of a ghost, his skin crawling as he recognized Keita's voice. _"You played judge, jury and executioner for two years, what gave you the right to decide who lived and died?"_

 _'Sh… Shut up… I didn't have a choice…'_ Nadar tried to reason to himself, his whole body starting to shake as he kept his back to the tree. _'Everyone I killed saved 100 players, I didn't do it for fun…'_

 _"What did we do to deserve to die then?"_ Ducker's voice went on.

 _'I… I didn't actually kill you! I tried to warn you but you didn't listen!'_

 _"You could've told us you were on the Assault Team!"_ Sasamaru's voice shouted. _"We would've listened to you then! But you chose to rather be selfish!"_

 _'I didn't do it for myself!'_

 _"But you're the reason we were killed. You could've stopped us by revealing yourself to us. But you were too scared we would shun you for lying."_ Tetsuo's voice said.

 _'I didn't want you to die!'_ Nadar by this point was looking down as tears were escaping from his eyes, the voices slowly breaking him as his shaking nearly going violent. _'I didn't want anyone to die! I didn't know what to do!'_

 _"Of course you did."_ Nadar's world then felt as if it was shattering when he heard Sarah's voice, the final nail in the coffin. _"You chose to keep killing after you killed me."_

"Eyes up punk!" An Abyss Watcher shouted as he lunged at Nadar, getting Nadar's attention.

The next few moments felt like hours as Nadar swung his sword forward. The Abyss Watcher was left in shock as Nadar's swing was faster than any of his previous attacks, cutting right through him and cleaving in half from the impact.

When he fell to the ground and vanished, Nadar's eyes widened in terror as he slowly loosened his grip on his sword. Tears were falling down his face as images of the two years in SAO suddenly came in full force. From when he killed Sarah, Diavel dying in front of him, the Moonlit Black Cats being slaughtered, even every criminal that he cut down up to the very end.

The last image he saw before he dropped his sword was of him shattering, and when the blade hit the ground he felt his self-control snap in a fit of horror.

"Ahh…. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Nadar's blood curdling scream cut through the air as he collapsed to his knees, holding his hands onto his head as he couldn't stop himself from panicking. His heart rate was increasing rapidly, so much that his monitor began to broadcast warnings to him that he was going into shock.

Almost all the fighting stopped when the scream was heard, even Arto and Hachiman who were in the motions of attacking each other stopped dead in their tracks from the raw horror that was heard.

"Holy shit, something's wrong!" Genra shouted as he ran up to Nadar. When he saw the heart monitor warning over his health, Genra turned to and began waving the others away in panic. "Give him space! He needs space!"

"Nadar?" Klein was the first to start moving again, sheathing his sword as he ran towards the group that had surrounded them. "Out of my way, get out of my way!" He shoved through them, his instincts kicking in and he ran over towards Genra and Nadar, kneeling next to them.

Klein nearly jumped in panic as he saw Nadar's condition, the uncontrollable shaking along with his terror filled eyes. "Oh my god, Nadar, Nadar!"

"What's wrong with him!?" Sachi shouted as she and the others made their way out shortly after, most of them stopping at the sight of Nadar.

"What did you do to him!?" Klein shouted at Genra, getting the player to hold his hands up in surrender.

"We didn't do anything! We were just in the middle of fighting when he suddenly just lost it!"

"You expect us to believe that when he's shaking in terror?" Hachiman questioned with a glare as he grabbed the player by his armor and picked him up off his knees a bit. "If you don't tell us what you did, I swear nothing in this world or the next will keep you safe from me!"

"I… I didn't mean to do it…" Everyone turned to Nadar as they heard him mumble through the tears. "I swear I didn't… I just… I just thought I… I…"

"Nadar, Nadar listen to me, you need to calm down." Klein tried to relax the executioner, holding his shoulders with a comforting grip. "Whatever they did, it isn't real. You have to remember, this isn't real. It's just Virtual Reality, nothing can hurt you in here."

"Virtual… Reality…" Nadar's condition wasn't getting better, in fact he was appearing to get even worse when he looked up and moved his hand to open his menu. "I… I have to get out here! I can't… I can't do this again!"

"Nadar wait!" Klein tried to stop him, grabbing his wrist and fighting against him. "What are you doing? You can't logout now; we haven't made it to the first bonfire yet. Just calm down man, please before you hurt yourself!"

"I can't go through this again!" Nadar tried to fight out of his grip, his lack of focus keeping Klein from being overpowered. "I tried but I can't! I can't fight anymore! I can't kill anymore!"

"Death in here isn't real, it's not the same as SAO! We're not in that death game anymore!"

"Yes we are!" Nadar shouted, eventually fighting away from Klein and going for his logout. "I can't do this anymore! I can't lie to myself and act like everything's just fine! I can't keep pretending to be someone I'm not!" When Nadar tapped his logout, his menu vanished and his avatar collapsed, appearing almost dead by the way it flopped.

"Damn, damn it what happened!?" Klein shouted as he opened his menu. "I have to get to him!" Klein's avatar went stiff as well when he logged out, landing next to Nadar's.

When the two were gone, the remaining players of the party all looked around, seeing the Abyss Watchers all staring in a mixture of confusion and shock.

"Well, what do you all plan on doing now?" Hachiman asked, keeping his catalyst in hand as he stood ready. "Going to keep trying to kill us?"

"What was that all about?" Genra asked, getting up as he did. "I've seen people get nervous playing for the first time, but that looked like a full on panic attack!"

"Why are you acting like you care?" Anra asked, pointing her blade at his throat.

"Hey, we're a PVP guild, but we don't want people having heart attacks! What do you think we are, some generic villain in a poorly done anime!?"

"Is there something wrong with him IRL?" Arto asked as he approached the group, sheathing his weapons as he did.

"He's… he's been having some trouble but we never thought it was this bad." Silica admitted, terrified for her big brother.

Arto then sighed heavily as he rubbed the back of his head. "Alright boys, pack it up. We're leaving." Arto's words didn't surprise his guild, as they all were following through and putting their weapons away.

"You're just letting us go?" Hachiman questioned.

"You were a bounty for in-game currency. That's not exactly worth whatever happened to your friend." He responded, sounding sincere as he took his hat off. "I know our reputation makes us seem like bad guys, but we just fight in good fun. I promise you we wouldn't have done this if we knew this was the outcome."

"Here, I'll help you guys bring their avatars to the bonfire." Genra offered, picking up Klein's and putting him over his shoulder. "They'll at least be in the safe zone so you don't have to worry about anything attacking them."

"Make sure they get there safe and sound." Arto ordered. Just before he would start to walk away with the rest of his guild, Arto turned to speak up one last time. "Hey mage?"

"Yeah?" Hachiman responded as he picked Nadar's avatar up.

"Meet me back at Volrun once your done with whatever you're here for, tell me what happened to the guy. Oh, and I'll expect to continue our fight eventually too."

"Um, sure thing?" Hachiman said uncertainly, getting a chuckle from Arto as he walked away.

"His heart…" Sachi looked down to Yui when she heard her speak, seeing tears in her eyes as she looked at Nadar's avatar. "His heart was…"

"Hey, shh… shh… it's okay Yui." Sachi said, kneeling next to her daughter and hugging her supportively. "Your uncle's going to okay, I promise."

"He's in pain mommy." Yui cried as she hugged her back as tightly as she could. "He's… he wasn't this bad in SAO."

"We'll figure it out Yui. I promise."

"I'm scared mommy."

"I am too Yui." Sachi admitted, tears going down her face as she held her daughter. "I am too."

* * *

After a minute of cooling down, Klein's eyes opened as he woke up. He instantly removed his NerveGear and got up, running for Nadar's room to see that it was open.

"Nadar!? Nadar where are you!?" He shouted out before hearing the sound of throwing up in the bathroom, running for it right away to see Nadar hunched over in pain on his knees.

"Oh god Nadar, what happened?" Klein spoke quietly as he walked over to the downed boy. He didn't know by how long Nadar beat him back, but whatever happened in that short time had him puking whatever was in him out into the toilet.

"Klein…" Nadar sobbed as he looked up to the man, his eyes red as he continued to cry. "Klein I… I didn't mean to… it wasn't meant to… I, I…" Nadar then hunched back over the toilet and puked again, his whole body feeling broken as he did.

"It's okay man, I'm here." Klein said as he knelt down next to Nadar, rubbing his back supportively as he continued to puke his guts out. "Take your time… I'm not leaving your side until your better."

"I'm a monster…" Nadar cried, his hands trembling as he felt nothing but pain and shame. "I'm a complete… monster…"

* * *

 **(A/N): Holy shit am I late with this. Well first thing's first, I'm really sorry for the delay. I wasn't planning on this chapter being difficult, but no matter what I did the planning for it felt off. Almost everything went smoothly but something felt... off about how the original went. I was so focused on characters like Hachiman and Klein that I didn't realize the problem until I looked at Nadar, and then everything seemed to click. I don't know if it came off clear, but everything will be further explained in the next chapter. For now all i can leave off is with this, but in all honesty I felt proud of the chapter once I figured out what was wrong.**

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and am once again sorry for that wait. Peace!**


	29. Hunters

"So… how is he doing?" Hachiman asked as he, Sachi and Silica were all sitting with Klein at his table. It was only the morning after Nadar's incident, and the three all got to the apartment the two were staying at to check up on the executioner's condition.

The question caused Klein to sigh, the samurai putting his cup of tea down as he looked over to Nadar's room. "As soon as I got out of DSO, he was puking his guts out in the bathroom, shaking worse than I've ever seen. He didn't calm down until almost two hours later, but after that he seemed practically dead."

"And now?" Sachi added in, concerned over Nadar's health.

"He ate a bit last night and drank a lot of water, but aside from last night he hasn't left his room." He explained. "I've checked up on him a few times before you guys showed up, he hasn't responded to me though. He just… lays there and doesn't say anything."

"Nadar…" Silica muttered in sorrow, looking down to the table.

"What happened to him?" Hachiman questioned. "I know he still had some issues with VR, but he looked like he was about to have a heart attack. What could make some him shake in terror like that?"

"I don't know, all he said last night was that he was a monster." Klein answered. "Just… repeated it for the whole two hours I was trying to calm him down. And then after that, nothing. Wouldn't speak a word."

"Could… could we check on him?" Silica asked.

"Yeah, of course you can." Klein nodded. "It might be good for him if he sees you three, he might be willing to talk to you guys at the least."

The three nodded before getting up, Sachi leading the three before she delicately knocked on the door. "Nadar? Are you awake?" There was no response, forcing her to continue on. "Nadar, please… what happened? We're worried for you."

"…Go away…" The obstructed but clear voice of Nadar was then heard responding, but the response did nothing more than concern the group more.

"Nadar, what happened last night?" Hachiman spoke up instead, placing his forearm on the door. "I know VR's still a rough spot for you, but I thought you were okay enough to get through the game. What set you over the edge?"

"…I said go away." Nadar said again, getting a grunt from Hachiman.

"We're coming in." He stated, opening the door and entering in. When they were in, they saw Nadar lying underneath his covers, facing away from the door and curling himself up to take as little space as possible.

"Are you all deaf? I said go away." Nadar spoke in the same tone, not even looking over to them as he appeared to hide himself from them.

"Nadar, please, you can talk to us." Sachi spoke, stepping closer to Nadar's bed. "We want to help, but we can't do that if you don't talk to us."

"…I don't deserve the help." He muttered, sounding more distant as he flinched seemingly out of nowhere.

"Of course you do, you've done more for us then anyone else." Sachi argued. "I know you always try to fight by yourself, but you don't have to anymore. We're here for you; all you have to do is talk to us. We'll listen to everything you have to say, I promise."

"You don't get it, I'm not fighting anything." He'd say, curling up more as he refused to look at any of them. "I'm done with it all, VR is beyond me at this point and it's hopeless for me to get past it."

"Nadar, you're not actually saying that you're…" Silica spoke in shock, the three almost seeming in fear as he tightened his hold on his blanket.

"Stop calling me that, it's nothing but a brand I put on myself to act like something changed." He responded. "But the truth is, I haven't changed one bit from before I put that helmet on. I'm just a selfish coward who killed others as some sick form of coping."

"Is that what this is about? All the people you killed back then?" Hachiman asked. "Nadar, you hunted criminals, players who killed others despite what was going on. They were murders, and you saved others by doing that."

"I'm no better than every single one I killed. I didn't kill for the greater good, I killed because I could. Because I was able to shift the responsibility of my actions on what I had done back on day one. One wrong step, and I probably would've ended up a part of Laughing Coffin, or maybe even formed my own murder guild."

"Nadar, you are nothing like them."

"I'm exactly like them!" Nadar shouted, silencing the entire room as he began to shake. "It wasn't just murders, I killed players who didn't do anything wrong but get close to me! In there I'm nothing but a monster that just takes and takes! I can't become that anymore, my only reason for that happening is gone now and I refuse to ever go back!"

"But… but what about Kirito?" Sachi asked, reaching out to Nadar as he continued to shake. "What about Asuna? You said you'd get them out. Nadar you can't just-!" Before she could finish, the whole room went dead silent as Nadar lashed out and smacked her hand away, his hand bruising from the action.

"I said to stop calling me that!" He screamed, tears running down his face as he glared at Sachi. "What part of it don't you get!? I'm not Nadar anymore! I haven't been since we got out of the fucking game! I'm not strong, I'm not some pinnacle of strength to look up to! I'm just some weakling too scared to even swing a sword at a stupid VR player!"

"What the hell are we supposed to even do anyways!? There's nothing that can be done to help either of them, it was just wishful thinking we could even do anything! They're trapped in a game, even if we found some solution to save them Sugou would just make it impossible!"

He'd then wince as he felt the pain in his hand, rolling back to curl away from them again. "There's no point in any of this, we were doomed before we even started. Asuna, Kirito, we can't save either of them. The sooner you move on from that Sana the better."

The players were completely floored by the outburst from the former executioner. He's always had trouble controlling his anger, but he would never go so far as to lay a finger on Sachi. The smack itself didn't hurt her, in fact it more likely hurt him far more. But to see him lash out and hit her hand away hurt her in a way hitting her never could.

"Nadar… you…" Sachi couldn't even speak as tears began to build in her eyes.

"Just leave, and take your false hope with you." He muttered, not even giving a second glance to them. "We were just playing a game, there's nothing we can do to save Kirito or Asuna."

Hearing the boy's words brought the group to a whole new low, Sachi and Silica both walking out with their heads held low. Sachi was holding onto the hand he hit, still unable to even come to understand why he would lash out in such a way.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, but I do know this." Hachiman would say, remaining in the room to stare at Nadar's still form. "The Nadar I knew would never have lashed out at Sachi like that. And he wouldn't give up on the people who trusted him."

"…This is the real me, get over it." He responded dejectedly. "The person you knew in SAO was a shadow, a mask to put on and hide who I really was."

"No… I don't think it was." Hachiman muttered as he turned away, closing the door behind him. Once he did, everyone looked down in disappointment.

"So… what now?" Having heard the whole thing, Klein hadn't a clue on what to do next.

"Now… we get ready for the next day back in." Sachi said, wiping her tears away as she put on a determined face.

"Sachi…?" Silica whispered shakily, gently reaching for her hand that was hit.

"I'm okay Silica." She'd smile, graciously accepting the gesture and holding her hand. "I'm just a little… overwhelmed right now."

"All of us are." Hachiman said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Do you want some time? We can hold up for a bit if you like."

"No, we don't have that luxury." Sachi stated. "I don't care if Nadar says it's impossible, we owe both Kirito and Asuna to try and get them out. DSO is our only lead, and we'll follow through with our plan."

"Well, it's the weekend so Sara and I have the entire day to help, so you can count on us to be there."

"And I will too." Silica added in.

"I'll be there, but I might end up dragging us a bit." Klein spoke, rubbing the back of his head. "I'll have to log out and check up on Nadar every once in awhile, but im sure he'll be okay by himself for most of the day. I doubt he'll be in much of a mood to get up and do something."

"I'll call Suguha and let her know the mission's still on then." Sachi spoke, the three guests heading for the door. "Oh, and Klein?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you… for always being there for Nadar when we couldn't."

"Hey, it's no trouble." Klein smirked, flashing a thumbs up to the three. "It might seem bad now, but I know he'll get better. Once we get Asuna and Kirito out we can focus on helping him. So let's do this, for all of them."

"Yeah, for all of them."

* * *

"Hey Nadar, I'm going to be logging in in a minute." Klein spoke as he opened Nadar's door. "I'll log out to check up at 12:00 and warm something up for us for lunch, sound good?"

"Sure… see you then Ryoutarou." Nadar said, not turning as he spoke.

Although it hurt to get such a beaten tone from him, Klein was grateful that he was at least speaking a bit more. He was far from being back to his old self, but he was at least talking. He'd take Nadar's dejected voice over silence any day, it at least meant he was thinking and not just wallowing in self-pity.

"Okay, see you then." He'd say before closing the door, walking over to his room and setting himself up. Placing the NerveGear on his head, Klein laid down on his bed and looked up, hearing the helmet boot up. "Link Start." The same quick load went through, and by the time he opened his eyes we was sitting in front of the bonfire that the group had reached.

"Ah, so you're the first one on." Klein looked to his side to see Genra, the Abyss Walker sitting on an overgrown tree root while sharpening a knife.

"You're that player from yesterday."

"Yep, Genra if you remember." He reintroduced. "I helped your friends carry you to this bonfire, along with your friend that freaked out."

"Well thanks, I guess?"

"No problem, it was obviously important and it'd feel wrong to just look away after that." The player shrugged, placing his knife on his belt. "So how's he doing?"

"He's not looking too good, but he's calmed down since last night."

"That's good at least."

"Yeah…" Klein mumbled, having a hard time getting a read on the player. "Hey, could you answer me something?"

"Shoot."

"Why'd you all stop? You don't know any of us, and Nadar's panic wasn't any of your business. But your whole guild stopped fighting right after he shouted, why do that?"

"Besides the fact we're not some generic antagonists?" Genra asked, chuckling before sighing and looking up. "We have a few new members in the guild, they were part of a support group and I offered to help them get over their paranoia of Virtual Reality. Your friend's outburst reminded us of them, so we knew something bad happened right away."

"A support group for people paranoid of VR?" Klein asked, surprised to learn of that.

"Yep, started about two months ago." Genra answered as he laid back on the root, crossing his arms behind his head as he looked up to the bright sky. "Some corporate guys set it up to help the survivors of SAO that were struggling with recuperating, and setting up group leaders that bring them into VR to show them what happened before won't happen again. It also helps with those that felt weak and show it doesn't define them."

"You volunteered for that? That's pretty noble of you for a PKer."

"I'm guessing that's more of an insult for you, so yeah I'll admit that may seem as a surprise." Genra chuckled as he crossed his legs, relaxing as he closed his eyes. "But it's a personal obligation for me to help them recover. One wrong choice and I would've ended up just like them… maybe it would've been for the better if I did."

Klein didn't comment on that last bit, being capable of putting the pieces together himself. The two remained silent for a few minutes after, the Abyss Watcher being the one to break it as he sat up.

"Your friends… you're all SAO survivors, aren't you?"

"You can tell?"

"You were fighting off more than two dozen players on your own, kinda hard to miss. Can I ask another question?"

"As long as it isn't too personal."

"Did you ever meet the Executioner of Aincrad?" That question caught the samurai off guard, getting him to turn in shock.

"You know that title?"

"A lot of the players I've been helping brought him up a lot, and the rumors around him have spread throughout VR as a whole."

"What kind of rumors?"

"The scariest mofo you'd ever meet, with an axe that cut through anything like butter. So dangerous just mentioning his name felt like inviting trouble." Genra stated a few. "Stuff like that's made him a hit in the PvP community, although I think that's because they forget that SAO's PvP was much more real than games like DSO and GGO."

"So why ask if we know him?"

"I'm curious about him, plus… I wanted to meet him personally." Genra said, folding his hands together as he propped his elbows on his knees. "I've heard from an old friend, someone else who got stuck in SAO along with a few others and… someone who was close."

"Oh… well sorry man, but I never really got to know the guy." Klein lied, trying to play it off without looking suspicious. "He was really reclusive and only ever showed up for boss raids or criminal missions."

"Would you recognize him if you saw him?" Genra asked, making Klein uncomfortable at the push. "I just want to talk to him, but I'm not expecting you to let in any favors. It's just… important to me is all."

"Um, sure then? If I ever see him I'll bring you up."

"Thanks." Genra then stood up, stretching as he cracked his neck. "Well, I would love to stay, but I actually only got on to see if I could run into any of you." He then opened his menu, opening it and going to the log out option. "See you around Klein, hope your friend gets better soon."

"Uh, alright then." Klein responded awkwardly before Genra vanished, disappearing as he logged out. "What the hell was that about?"

"What was what about?" Klein nearly jumped as Hachiman appeared.

"Jeez man, don't scare me like that." He sighed. "One of those Abyss Watcher guys was hanging around, waiting to hear how Nadar was doing."

"Not that surprising, Genra looked pretty concerned when Nadar panicked."

"Yeah, but then he started talking about SAO, and specifically asking about Aincrad's Executioner."

That set off a flag in Hachiman's mind, the mage narrowing his eyes as he looked to the bonfire. "What'd he ask?"

"Just if I knew him, and if I could somehow get him into contact with him."

"What'd you tell him?"

"Nothing, obviously. I have no idea who he actually is in the real world, and Nadar has enough going on without the added in stress of someone looking for him by his alias."

"Think he's going to be a problem?"

"I don't think so, he doesn't know Nadar's username or his real name, so he probably only knows him through reputation."

"Still, to call him out like that."

"He knew a few people who were trapped in SAO, that's about the best of a lead I got."

 _'It had to be now of all times, didn't it?'_ Hachiman thought with a growl, scratching his head as he thought who Genra might've known. _'I don't even know any user remotely close to that, and there's no telling who his friends were. This isn't going to be good if we don't figure out what he's after.'_

"Should we tell the others?" Klein asked.

"And what, add more onto their burdens then there already is?" Hachiman responded, shaking his head as he crossed his arms. "No, this is probably best kept between us for now. We'll figure this out after we've gotten Kirito and Asuna out."

Klein didn't speak, rather just nodding as he stood up to stretch. The two would wait as one after the other of the group all logged in, only a few minutes going by before the last of them was on. From there, it'd be a march to Anor Londo for what would likely take the entire day.

* * *

"So this is what I've come to…" Nadar said as he looked up to his ceiling, having a blank stare as he remained in bed. "All that pain, all that shit I went through in SAO, all just to go back where I once was."

Raising his arm up, Nadar would shift his gaze to look at his hand, slowly closing and opening to feel out his senses. After nearly a minute of this, when he next closed his hand Nadar's vision shifted and for a second saw his old KoB uniform on, the room appearing to be the one he stayed in the guild house.

He instantly sat up in panic, opening his hand and looking desperately at his palm as he started to shake again. Feeling his stomach turn again, the boy got up and ran for the bathroom again, doubling over and hurling what little he had to eat this morning into the toilet.

The puking had only gone for a minute, but the former executioner remained in the room for what nearly felt like an hour, heaving and keeping his head over incase any more bile would come out.

Once he felt he was in the clear, Nadar slowly stood up and flushed the toilet, walking out with a distant gaze. He would start to head towards him room again when he heard the phone on the counter go off. Knowing that Klein was currently in DSO, and the chance that it could be Kikuoka for another session Nadar walked over and picked up the phone, answering without looking at the ID.

"This is Asashi, is there anything I can help you with?"

 _"Hey kid, it's Agil."_

"Oh, hey." He responded simply. "There something up?"

 _"I should be asking you that. Klein said you had a panic attack last night out of nowhere."_ Nadar winced at the thought, rubbing the back of his neck as Agil sounded concerned. _"I've been trying to call you all morning but you wouldn't answer."_

"Yeah… I turned off my phone when I woke up. Sorry about that."

 _"You don't sound too hot right now, you feeling okay?"_

"Yeah, I'm fine there's nothing… no, no I'm not okay." He couldn't keep it in, walking over to the nearest window to look out to the busy street. "I'll be honest, I think I just discovered a low past rock bottom."

 _"Nadar, what happened in DSO? Klein didn't say much, but it sounded bad."_

"I lost it, I cut someone down and I lost it." He admitted, placing a hand down on the counter and closing his eyes in shame. "Two years of killing people and now I grow a damn conscious. I never regretted killing someone with my axe, but now every time I just look at my hand I feel that… that everything's going to shit!"

"…" Nadar began to shake again as he felt his eyes sting with tears, listening to the silence on the other end of the line. He couldn't tell if he was waiting for a response or for him to just hang up, and he couldn't tell which one would scare him more.

 _"Hey, Kathy and I were planning on closing the bar a little early today. It's been a bit of a slow day, and it sounds like you could use someone to talk to."_

"I… I don't need to talk to anyone Andrew. I just need to… I need to think about everything. Figure this out for myself."

 _"Uh huh, sure."_ He couldn't see it, but Nadar could feel the roll in Agil's eyes in his response. _"We'll close at three, how's you show up around then sound? We'll whip something up real quick and have a bite while we talk."_

"I'm… not getting out of this am I?"

 _"We'll drive up there and force the food down ya if we have to."_ Agil chuckled, getting a humorless smile from Nadar.

"I'll be sure to wash up before then."

 _"Good, see ya later man."_

"See ya." Nadar then hung up, looking down to the phone with a distant stare before placing it back on the counter. He then sighed deeply, feeling his stomach twist as he looked down to his clothes.

 _'I'm gonna have to change…'_ He groaned before taking a whiff of himself, cringing as he turned his nose in the opposite direction. _'…And maybe a shower.'_

* * *

 _ ***Ding!***_

"36."

 _ ***Ding!***_

"37."

 _ ***Ding!***_

"38."

"Do you think you should answer those?" Klein asked Leafa as Hachiman continued to count the notifications with each ding.

The group has been traveling for the past three hours, and ever since they left they have yet to reach the next bonfire to Anor Londo. While it did give note to the scope of the map, their given circumstances didn't give them much time to appreciate it. Add in Leafa's notification box exploding for the past hour made the trip that more grueling.

"Recon's just been messaging me constantly is all." Leafa explained, not even having to look at the messages to know it was him. "His barrage likely means it's important, and by my guess it means me and Anra are now heretics."

"Recon said that before we left, what does that mean?" Silica asked.

"It means we were banished from the Sunlight Covenant." Anra answered. "By default everyone's apart of the covenant they chose, but if a higher up in the command chain deems you unworthy you can be expelled. Siggard is the head of the Sunlight Warrior's army, so he has the authority to take away our status in the covenant."

"I'm sorry." Sachi said in response. "This was our fault, we pulled you away to help us, even without knowing if it would work in the end or not."

"It's not all bad." Leafa stated, trying to lighten the tension. "We don't really take orders anymore now, so we're free to do whatever we want outside of the kingdom. We'll likely get bounty hunters every once in awhile, but outside of that there really isn't that many downsides."

"I wouldn't say that's entirely good." Hachiman said. "I don't doubt you two are good players, but if you're being hunted you won't be fighting your run of the mill players."

"What makes you say that?" Anra asked.

"Nadar and I were bounty hunters. We hunted criminal players all the time back in SAO." He detailed. "Being a low level one would be suicide, so we always had to be in the upper ranks of the Assault Team if we were to have a chance against some of the criminals we had come across."

"Do you think people in here will have the same level of dedication as you two?"

"Dark Souls is a dog eat dog game. If you get invaded, you had better hoped you were the better player or you could get rinsed bad. I have no doubt there could be players that are higher levels than all of us."

"Hey guys… do you hear that?" Klein asked, stopping as he got the rest of the group's attention.

"Hear what?" Instead of responding, Klein just held a finger up, getting them to listen more to try and hear what he was referring to. Out of all the players, Silica was the first one to hear the same, instantly going for her dagger defensively while turning to their rear; the samurai following as he unsheathed his katana.

The rest of the group then began to hear the sound of heavy footsteps, followed by the sound of dangling chains and armored plates grinding against each other. The sound put them all on edge as they all grabbed ahold of their weapons, Yui concentrating to detect what it was.

"It's a player, but I can't detect their level or stats." She informed. "There's two others separating behind, I believe their setting up a choke point for the one player to force us in."

"That's just great." Hachiman muttered before summoning an ethereal spear over his staff, adding a lightning buff as he moved up to beside Klein.

The sounds of the steps slowly became louder and louder, signaling the players approach until they stepped out of the tree line in the area around them. The whole team stared in shock as they saw a player covered head to toe in hulking armor that seemed too heavy to possibly carry. That shock was added on when they saw the weapon in his hand, a massive dragon tooth connected to a handle into a makeshift hammer.

"Oh fuck, a Havel build." Hachiman whispered, recognizing the armor and weapon right away.

"Hachiman?"

"Whatever you do, don't get hit." He warned as he shifted his left foot back. "I don't know the translation in power here, but he's going to be dangerous. Fight expecting he'll one-shot you."

"What do you mean he'll-!" Sachi wasn't able to finish her sentence as Hachiman rushed forward, swiping his hand across his staff and creating a magic spear and enchanting it with lightning. "Hachiman wait!"

"We don't have time to wait!" He responded, seeing the monstrous player bring his arm back, easily capable of carrying the massive weapon. Just as he would swing it, Hachiman would lunge and roll over his shoulder, dodging the attack as it caused a small tremor in the area. When he got to his feet and turned, he japed his spear forward only for it to meet resistance, a massive plate of the jagged metal on his back providing extra armor.

 _'He has the shield too!'_ He thought before jumping back, the dust of the player's next swing just grazing his feet as he retreated several feet back. Getting into his stance, Hachiman tightened his hold on his staff, watching as the player calmly walked towards him.

"What are we doing standing around, we got to help him!" Klein responded, running towards the player from behind. Just as he was about to reach him however, the samurai was caught by surprise as what appeared to be a lance shot out from the trees and struck his chest, impaling him and knocking him crashing back.

"Klein!"

"That was one of the players!" Yui informed as Silica and Leafa ran to Klein's side, helping him up as he removed the lance. "They're equipped with a greatbow and greatarrows. He's roughly twenty meters outside of the tree line and is acting as ranged support for the Havel player."

"So ranged support, a massive tank, and a third unknown." Sachi accounted for the team, her sword pointed to where the massive arrow came from.

"Hold up, THAT was an arrow!?" Klein asked. "That was the size of a lance!"

"A good chunk of the strongest enemies in-game are Lords!" Hachiman explained, dodging another swing from the Havel player and getting a quick jab at his shoulder, managing to get a cut in the chink of his armor before lunging back. "That's the average size of their weapons!"

"Oh great, strength builds…"

"The third player is approaching rapidly!" Yui warned, turning as she formed a disk of light in her hand, throwing it in the opposite direction of where the archer was.

Just after the disk went past the tree line a player clad in a mix of leather and iron armor shot out of cover, a silver longsword wielded in his right hand. The knight helmet he had on had its visor up, showing his grinning face as he gleamed with excitement.

"You got good eyes kid, a real natural!" He shouted as he lunged towards Yui, slashing out and clashing blades with Sachi as she sprinted between the two. "Oh?"

"You won't touch her." Sachi threatened, her eyes narrowing as the two disengaged. The moment he jumped back, the swordswoman pursued, slashing out at him several times, to which he blocked each time. After her fourth slash he retaliated, deflecting the attack and slashed across her stomach, taking several steps past her as he remained in his final posture.

"You're not half bad, but you're a little too slow to keep up with me." He'd say as he turned to her, his grin toning down to a smirk as he placed his blade on his shoulder. "The name's Ken by the way."

Sachi blinked in shock for a second, caught off guard by his forthcoming personality but shook her head as she remembered the conditions they were in. "I'm… Sachi."

"Huh, interesting." Ken shrugged, spinning his sword in his hand before impaling it into the ground. "You know, when we were hired to hunt a few heretics they only brought up three. You're a larger group then we were expecting."

"Then maybe it'd be better to retreat, no point in wasting time." Sachi argued, getting into her stance.

"Nah, we've handled larger groups." Ken responded, taking his blade out and spinning it once more before resting it on his shoulder, his posture calm but collected as he stared her down. "Sature's bow work can easily pick you off, and Hiro's got plenty of health to compete with the one's he's fighting."

"And what's stopping us from grouping up on you and him?"

"Simple." Ken spoke before pulling out three throwing knives, forcing Sachi to dodge back. She was then caught off guard as he lunged the distance between them in a single leap, his agility clearly higher than hers. "We have strategy and better equipment."

As he brought his blade forward to swing, Ken turned and saw Leafa approach him from his left, getting him to instead bring it around and block her attack. Their blades sparked on impact, the ringing going off before he dodged to avoid her next swing. Ken then began to follow the two's movements and griped his sword with both hands, blocking the two's next swings.

As their blades collided Silica was running around the trio, attempting to get behind Ken and rush him. Just as she stopped to turn direction she was forced to jump back, a greatarrow impaling into the ground where she once was. She then had to dodge in different directions as Sature was letting his arrows fly, surprising the girl with the rapid fire.

"He's really fast with his bow!" She screamed before rolling forward, barely managing to avoid his last arrow, luring her forward enough for Ken to push the two swordswoman in front of him and kick back, hitting her square in the chest to knock her back.

"Silica!" Klein shouted as he ran towards Ken, his katana gripped in both hands. "You bastard!" Ken simply continued to smirk as he swung his sword to block Klein's swing, the player instantly getting caught off guard by the strength behind the samurai's swing.

"Wait, you're a strength build!?"

"What about it!?" Klein responded, managing to push forward and knock Ken's blade out of his way, landing a vertical slash down his chest. Ken recovered instantly, matching Klein's next blow and fighting against his blade with equal strength.

"It's rare seeing a Strength build use a dex weapon." He responded, redirecting Klein's katana over him and bringing his knee up, landing solid to his chest. "Makes things interesting!" Ken then looked to his side and jumped to his side, avoiding Yui's light rings. "And then there's the miracle worker as well." He clicked his tongue as he saw Anra run for Hachiman and Hiro. "Well, at least two won't be a problem for him."

"You should worry more about your situation." Leafa stated, the remaining players surrounding him in an arc as they readied their weapons. "You can't beat five players on your own, no one's that good."

"Blonde hair, green eyes, scimitar for a weapon; you must be Leafa." Ken guessed, his smirk returning as he got into his stance. "You haven't traveled much outside of working with your party, so I don't blame you for not knowing about us. We exclusively hunt heretics."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Only high level players would dare to leave their faction." He'd say, reaching behind his back with his left hand. It was then a second sword materialized behind his back and he unsheathed it, revealing a thin longsword made entirely out of ice. "Which means we have to be even higher levels then them. I'm guessing you're around… level 78, at the least."

"Your friends I'd wager around 90 something, since they seem more competent." He then moved his left hand over his right sword, the blade now coated in a purple mist as he now stood ready. "Each of us, are level 120, some of the highest level players in the entire game."

"Level's are artificial, they don't determine a victory like they did in older games." Leafa argued, swiping her hand across her blade and summoning lightning.

"True, but the real good stuff only becomes available once you cross that juicy 100 mark." He then grinded as a bolt of lightning struck down, him instantly knowing where the bolt landed. "Stuff that is capable of wiping an entire party if it hits right."

* * *

"What's the strategy for fighting an opponent like this?" Anra would ask as she ran past Hiro, slashing across his back leg and rolling away as he swung at her.

"Hit and run, nothing fancy." Hachiman stated as he summoned several soul arrows over him and rushed at the massive player. As Hiro turned to crush him, Hachiman sent the soul arrows forward and sent them to his weapon. The massive dragon tooth was then knocked back to the ground from his back, allowing Hachiman to reach the armored player.

"You might be good, but I'm an OG Dark Souls player." Hachiman grinned as he stopped right in front of Hiro, pulling his spear back before stabbing into his gut, blood shooting out of his back as a critical attack went off. "I know the tricks to fight someone like you."

Hachiman was then caught off guard as Hiro reached out and grabbed his throat and shoulder, lifting him up with ease before slamming him into the ground. The mage coughed out blood as his avatar took a massive spike of damage, dropping him just above half before getting tossed away, rolling ov er his shoulders before getting to his feet.

 _'Damn, pain's a little more noticeable here.'_ Hachiman noted as he rubbed his throat, watching Hiro walk back and grab his dragon tooth, Hachiman's staff still in his chest as he did.

"So, nothing fancy huh?" Anra asked as she summoned a bolt of lightning in her hand, giving the boy a dry look before throwing it, Hiro spinning and destroying it with his weapon.

"Yeah… I deserve that." He'd groan before seeing his staff roll to his feet, Hiro remaining in place as he waited for Hachiman to pick it back up.

"Well… at least there's some consistency with battles in Dark Souls." Hachiman would say, grabbing his staff and standing up, activating his magic spear and lightning buff right away to prepare.

The players stared each other down for a second before running towards each other, Hiro appearing more active as he rushed towards them in his hulking armor. Hachiman and Anra would then attempt to slash at his feet, only for him to roll over them and land on his feet, spinning and swinging his hammer in a wide arc.

Both ducked to avoid it, going on the offensive as it passed over them. Hiro showed surprising maneuverability as he dodged Anra's swing and grabbed a hold of Hachiman's spearhead. He was about to start cracking it when Anra brought her sword down and slammed it onto his arm, not cutting through the armor but hitting hard enough to force him to let go.

He then blocked her next attack with the same forearm, knocking her sword out of her hands with the impact. As he reared his fist back to punch Hachiman lunged forward and struck at his shoulder, keeping it back in time as two soul spears then hit against his chest. Anra then finished the combo with a lightning spear, hitting Hiro point blank and managing to get him to step back several paces.

"This is insane…" Anra muttered as Hiro recovered, standing his full height again after taking barely any damage. "Even with your repost, he's barely dropped below 10% of his health. The amount of Vitality he has is unbelievable."

"Now I understand how criminals felt about Nadar." Hachiman sighed before calming his nerves. Shifting his left foot back, Hachiman prepared to lunge out, summoning several more soul spears before taking off at high speed.

Taking the direct and immediate path, Hachiman was able to scrape past Hiro and cut at his side, following his momentum to land a small distance from the heavy player. As Hiro then turned to charge him, Anra rushed from behind him and jumped up, a spear of lightning twice the size of the regular in her hand.

At the same time, Hachiman fired his soul spears and Anra threw the lightning spear, the spells boxing Hiro in and managing to stun him for a brief second. The players then took advantage of his stun and slashed at the player across his entire body, managing to land over a dozen attacks before he swung out, forcing them to retreat back.

After the latest display of teamwork, Hiro removed his greatshield from his back and held it in his left hand, appearing to take the fight seriously now as he planted his feet into the ground.

"Any idea what he's doing?" Anra asked, noting that Hiro showed no signs of moving.

"He's waiting for us to move first." Hachiman responded, taking a few steps to the right before speeding into a jog. "Best not to keep him waiting." The two then separated, going in wide arcs as they then began to run right at the monster of a player.

As he had the higher Agility, Hachiman reached Hiro first, the player blocking his jab with his shield before retaliating. The mage barely managed to dodge, feeling his legs nearly get knocked out from under him, but recovers and rolls out of the way of the next swing.

Hiro then reared his arm back for a heavy swing, his helmet following Hachiman as he began to run again to his side. Just as he did, the player heard the sound of a bolt of lightning going off in the distance, the vibrations of his armor making him suddenly step forward and turn, changing his target to Anra.

"Shit!" Hachiman grunted as he stopped, preparing to turn and move to stop him when suddenly a burst of lightning shot towards the group, his eyes widening in shock as the bolt struck where Yui was standing.

"Yui!"

"Mommy!"

 _'What kind of miracle was that!?'_ Hachiman thought as he saw the bolt envelop the AI before exploding in a series of smaller bolts, separating the rest of the group from Ken.

"Saizo!" Hachiman was then hit in the back, not being dealt much damage but the impact managing to knock him down onto the ground. When he moved to pick himself up, he saw Anra several feet away, her body slowly fading away as her health reached zero. "Sorry… I let my guard down…"

The player stared at where Anra laid before she vanished, causing him to clench his fist around his staff in anger before getting up, turning to face Hiro as he slowly walked towards him.

"You're going to regret that, you bastard." Hachiman said as he activated several soul spears, charging after Hiro with fire in his eyes as he did.

"Yui…" Sachi said dejectedly as she stared where her daughter once stood, now covered with soot and ash from the detonation of the lightning attack.

"Sachi watch out!" Klein shouted as he ran past Sachi, blocking the two blades of Ken. The sound of the metal colliding snapped Sachi out of her daze, the girl quickly recovering and turning to slash at the player. Ken then quickly kicked Klein's shin and brought his left side to block her attack, grinding his swords against theirs before dodging back as Leafa followed with her own attack. Sliding on his feet, the player then brought his right sword back to block Silica attempting to stab him in the back.

"You're a sneaky little one aren't you?" Ken stated before pushing the girl back, slashing with his free sword, striking her stomach and knocking her back. As he did, he then crossed his swords and blocked the three sword users in front of him, holding his ground as he did. "Now this is a fight!"

"How're you managing this?" Leafa questioned as they began to trade blows, Ken occasionally taking damage but managing to return his own attacks.

"You've fought the Dark Wraith faction once or twice, right?" Ken asked in return. "Well you noticed how they have bonus damage in PvP right?"

"You're not wearing their armor, and their boost wouldn't help you against multiple opponents like this."

"Yeah, Dark Wraiths are best at one on one. But a Gravelord Servant…" The buffs around his blades then turned a dark purple and black, the player instantly breaking off and kicking Sachi away. With a flurry of attacks, Ken pushed Klein and Leafa back, leaving them on the defensive with his relentless strikes.

After pushing them a few feet back, Ken would block and grind his blade down Klein's, landing a heavy slash across the samurai's chest before then turning to Leafa and swinging his sword out to the side. She was left shocked as her sword arm was knocked to the side by an impressive amount of force, now temporarily stunned as Ken preformed a parry.

Ken would break the second of silence by impaling Leafa through her stomach, blood erupting from the exit wound as he did. "We receive a stat buff from fighting against a group of enemies. The more opponents, the greater the boost." He then tripped Leafa's leg out from under her, bringing her down and impaling her to the ground, everyone watching shocked as he eradicated her health, dropping her to zero.

As he removed the blade from her, she faded away into dust like Anra and Yui, her remains scattering as he brought his blades to his sides. Smirking to himself, he heard Klein and Sachi both rush towards him, blocking their follow up attacks. Twisting his grip on his swords, he would spin and force the two away, the samurai managing to impale his sword into the ground to stop himself from going too far.

"You all gave a good fight, we haven't had a workout like this in awhile. Unfortunately for you however…" Ken said as he turned his back to Klein. "You're simply outmatched."

"Oh yeah? Klein asked, ripping his katana out of the ground and charging Ken. "You can't say that until we've been defeated!" He shouted, swinging his blade at Ken, the player still not moving.

Just as Klein's sword was about to connect, he was knocked off his feet as a greatarrow struck his side, ending his move and leaving him vulnerable. This brought a smirk to Ken's lips as he turned and slashed out with both swords, finishing off Klein's health and defeating the samurai.

"It's just a game man, no need to take it so seriously." He'd say as Klein's avatar faded away, the latest casualty.

"You're wrong." Sachi responded as she got into her stance. "This is more than a game, it's much more to us. In ways you wouldn't understand."

"Oh really?" Ken asked in return. "Why not try me? I can be a pretty reasonable guy."

"You say immediately after killing two of my friends."

"Okay, fair enough." He shrugged, getting back into his stance. "Let's keep this dance going, shall w-!" Ken was caught off guard as he felt a burst of pain in his back, blood erupting from his chest as Silica stabbed his back.

"Yes, I'm a little more sneaky." Silica said as she kept her dagger in his back, leaving him open as Sachi lunged forward, impaling his chest.

Ken coughed out blood as he suffered the dual injuries, the critical attacks taking a massive toll on his health as a result. "Okay I… deserve that." He groaned, taking a second to recollect himself before grinning. The two realized something was wrong but before they could pull away he dropped his swords and grabbed their wrists, preventing them from retreating.

"Sature, now!" In response to Ken's shout, a bolt of lightning struck in the distance, the thunderous roar reminding the two of the move that started the descent of their party before seeing a greatarrow entrapped in lightning quickly approach. And just as it was about to hit, Ken would simply grin in excitement. "Well, I guess you did better than I was expecting; GG!"

The three were caught in the explosion of lightning, the staggeringly powerful spell obliterating their remaining health and burning them up to dust.

"Sachi, Silica!" Hachiman shouted as he dodged Hiro's slam, staring at the dust blow away. His eyes narrowed in anger as he turned back to Hiro, a new vigor boiling up as he lunged at the massive player.

Avoiding a swing from the side, Hachiman delivered several quick jabs to his chest before jumping over, avoiding his shield attack and slashing across his back. As Hiro turned to face him, Hachiman summoned and fired several souls spears; aiming for his face and sending the player skidding back on his feet from the impact.

Refusing to allow his momentum to stop here, Hachiman rushed after Hiro with intensity, rebuffing his staff with lightning as he did. As he did, he heard the subtle disturbance of wind, showing his reaction time by flipping to his side, avoiding the greatarrow and fired a soul arrow towards the source.

As he turned his attention back to Hiro, the player was already in mid-swing. Jumping over the attack, Hachiman attempted to jab at him as he flipped over the armored player; to which Hiro managed to lift his shield over his head and block the attacks.

When he landed on his feet, Hachiman rolled to his side to avoid Hiro slamming his shield down, jabbing his spear up and right at his head. The spear impaled into his helmet, getting a critical hit on Hiro but not dropping it enough to defeat the player. Hachiman was then forced to jump back, avoiding his hammer and then summoning a bolt of lightning and throwing it to his side, knocking the greatarrow up and away from him.

Hearing Hiro run towards him, Hachiman rolled towards him on instinct, just avoiding his running slam and rolling onto his knee. Reaching up, he caught the greatarrow and charged it with lightning, throwing it and striking Hiro's shield point blank, the power enough to knock his arm to the side and leaving him open. And taking the opening, Hachiman stood up and impaled his spear into Hiro's chest, his critical strike dropping Hiro to below 10% health.

"You're not the only ones good at fighting players you bastard." Hachiman said as he released his staff, avoiding Hiro's hands before lunging with all his strength. Grabbing his staff, Hachiman used his momentum to flip over Hiro, bringing the player onto his back and slamming him down and preforming another critical strike. Just as Hachiman was expecting his health to reach zero, he was shocked as a burst of light went off, dread filling his body as he did.

 _'He can cast… Tears of Denial?'_ Realizing his situation, Hachiman pulled his staff out and was about to jump back, but was stopped as Hiro grabbed his ankle, stopping him and leaving him open as a greatarrow pierced his chest.

He was knocked back several feet onto his back, quickly ripping the arrow out and getting up as a second came, attempting to dodge but taking it in his shoulder, knocking him down again. This time summoning a soul arrow, Hachiman shot it towards the source before getting up, giving him a second to recover and get up.

As he did, Hiro approached him and struck out with his fist, forgoing his weapons and delivering a heavy blow to Hachiman. He managed to stay on his feet this time, recovering quicker and dodging his next punch. Hachiman then used him to jump off of, avoiding the next greatarrow and firing a soul arrow at Sature, the archer putting his greatbow on his back and pulling out a sword.

Hachiman rolled over his shoulder and got up, the two clashing twice before disconnecting. In a brief second the two paused before Sature pulled out a handful of throwing knives, forcing Hachiman to avoid them as he approached.

As he reached the archer, Sature swung at his head, narrowly missing as he jumped and kicked with both legs. Hachiman felt he was about to get a second to breath when he saw Hiro rear his arm back, a black firebomb in his hand. Throwing it with his strength, Hachiman was unable to dodge and was hit by the powerful explosive, sending him flying back into a tree.

The force of the impact completely knocked the wind out of Hachiman, the player's sight blackening partially as he desperately recovered from the attack. As he forced himself up to his knees, he looked forward to see Hiro grab his Dragon Tooth and walk toward him.

Rising to his feet, Hachiman was about to reach for an Estus before his arm was hit by a knife, Sature knocking his flask away when Hiro reached him.

"God… damn it…" He growled as Hiro winded up his attack, knowing that he didn't have the chance to dodge with Sature now pressuring him constantly. And as Hiro struck him with enough force to knock Hachiman through the tree behind him, he couldn't help but feel enraged as he faded into dust.

 _'GOD DAMN IT!'_

* * *

 **(A/N): Uooooooooooooook, this has been a long time coming hasn't it? I first and foremost have to apologize with how long it's been since I've updated this story. And I can't even really say it's because something big happened that stopped this from happening. Inspiration just kind of drained roughly 4,000 words in and it sort of just kept with me the whole time. Add in that I had my Xbox1 lost/stolen (unsure what happened) from moving I had lost my biggest inspirations for the story: SAO Fatal Bullet and DS3.**

 **However, recently I bought both games on Steam and have been getting back into the swing of things. Been playing DS3 like crazy and am now on NG, the rush of playing the game giving me the boost I needed to get back into writing. I can't guarantee I'll be posting quickly, but I'll do my best to avoid leaving this story unattended for so long.**

 **And lastly, I cannot thank enough for the support I've gotten for the story both during my writing and my unannounced hiatus. Over a year into writing this and now there's over 28,000 views and 186 followers. Call it generic, but I wasn't expecting this story to get much traction, but am glad that I've been able to entertain many. For those who have stayed, I am forever grateful for your dedication. And for those who are new, I am glad you've found interest in my story and hope I can keep that interest going.**

 **So far, that's pretty much all I can say for now, I hope this chapter was in any way worth the wait, and I'll be sure to work hard on the next chapter. Peace!**


	30. Altering Plans

"God damn it!" Hachiman shouted as he kicked a rock, sending it into the distance. After an extended revival process, Hachiman spawned at the bonfire they were last at, surrounded by everyone since they respawned sooner.

"Hachiman, take it easy." Anra tried to calm the mage, her hand getting shaken off his shoulder as he stepped away.

"This close, I was THIS CLOSE!" He continued to shout, pinching his finger and thumb close together when he turned back to everyone. "Just one more hit and he would've been as good as dead! If that stupid archer didn't rush in at the end like that I could've beat him and make quick work of him!"

"It was an ambush, they were expecting how to fight us." Klein reasoned with him, getting up from a tree log to approach him. "They'll probably keep hunting us for a bit since Anra and Leafa are still on a hunt list, but now that we have a better idea on how to fight them we can win."

"You don't get it Klein, we don't have that kind of time!" Hachiman responded. "It took us hours just to get there, we were just short of the bonfire and then we got wiped! The halfway point to Anor Londo and we can't even get past a team of three!"

"We won't get anywhere if we start arguing now! Just take a second to collect yourself and think things over. We had a rough spot, but we can recover; this isn't like SAO where we had a hundred floors to complete."

"Not like SAO… this isn't…" Hachiman spoke quietly before stepping back, collapsing to sit down as he took a deep breath. "Right, most of the trip is just mobs and walking, players are a rarity that close and… god my head."

"Are you okay Saizo?" Anra asked, concerned for the boy as she knelt next to him.

"Yeah I just… I need a minute." He groaned as he rested his face in his hands. "Getting cornered by a tank and speed fighter like that just… it brought up a few bad memories from hunting back in SAO."

"I don't blame you, can't deny that getting killed like that gave more than a few bad memories time to rise." Klein admitted.

The whole group grew quiet at the notion; the death game that they were now free of still plagued most of their thoughts. The times they almost died were all strong memories, and for the first time since escaping SAO they were confronted with them in an environment that was all too familiar to them. It became clear that none of them were truly over what happened in Aincrad, whether they were willing to admit it or not; the castle still had a firm hold on them. And that wouldn't change simply by trying to forget it.

"Do you… think this is what Nadar went through fighting the Abyss Watchers?" Silica asked, being the one to break the silence as she sat next to Leafa.

"Probably worse, he's the only one of us who actually died in SAO." Hachiman sighed, rubbing his forehead as he looked down to the dirt. "Add in the his guilt and suddenly his outburst makes a lot more sense. And we tried to drag him back in here again."

"We're going to have to take things slow for a bit." Sachi concluded, standing up from her spot next to Yui. "If those hunters are still out there, we'll have to double our efforts in fighting them. But we also have to get a better grasp on this game as well. It has similar mechanics but that fight showed most of us still struggle with PvP, and unlike SAO it's essential here."

"If Nadar was here, it'd be a lot easier." Hachiman stated before getting up, everyone following suit once they felt they've recovered enough. "But since he doesn't want to come back, we're going to have a rough road ahead of us."

"Should we stay and wait for a bit?" Anra asked. "Vince and Recon said they might join us later, if we message them they could come and help bolster our numbers. It'll especially be helpful since the moon's almost out."

"Why is that important?" Silica asked.

"When the moon rises, special enemies begin to spawn." Leafa explained. "It also boosts the stats of players under the Darkmoon covenant, so even if Sachi gets a boost that doesn't mean that she'll have the advantage on that swordsman."

"That might be a problem."

"I guess it's better safe then sorry." Hachiman said. "I don't get that the two are experts, but if things get more difficult in the night cycle here, we'll need all the help we can get. Can one of you send a message to them?"

"Sure I'll-" Before Leafa could finish, she had received a message from Vincent. "Oh, there he is now." She'd say before opening the message, getting a tired stare from Hachiman.

"Recon sends you over three dozen messages and you open the first one Vincent sends?"

"Don't judge." Anra said, poking his arm.

Leafa read through the message Vincent sent, at first appearing relaxed but slowly turning more and more concerned. After she finished the message her eyes were wide in surprise, shocked at the information sent to her.

"That… that can't be possible…"

"Leafa? What's wrong?"

"Vince and Recon stumbled into something big." She stated. "An army of Darkwraiths are heading out of their kingdom now, with their intended destination here in Sun covenant territory."

"That's crazy, they wouldn't be able to take the kingdom in full force." Anra argued.

"They aren't going for Volrun, there's a diplomatic mission going on right now at the Shift Hills." Leafa explained. "The leaders of the Sunlight and Blue Sentinels covenants are meeting to discuss plans for a raid on Anor Londo."

"At a time like this, how could the Dark Wraiths figure out the location?"

"I'm not sure, but we're going to have to go." Leafa stated, turning to run off. "I'm sorry but we have to put our rescue on hold."

"Hold up a second!" Hachiman shouted, grabbing Leafa's arm to stop her from running off. Leafa, you're our guide. If you put this on hold, we won't get anywhere! Are you seriously willing to let Asuna and Kirito, YOUR BROTHER, remain stuck in this game longer!?"

"Hachiman, if this isn't stopped, we'll never get within a kilometer of them!" She responded, confusing him. "If the Dark Wraiths capture Alicia and Sakuya, they'll have total control of both the Sunlight Warriors and Blue Sentinels shared territories!"

"They'll have access to our souls, overall resources and even command the armies for an entire month." Anra explained, stepping up and placing a hand on Hachiman's shoulder. "Not only that, but they'll likely also have 24/7 hunting parties for anyone out in the surrounding areas. The hunters we came across will be the least of our worries."

"So you're saying… we either lose a day, or lose potentially the entire month." Hachiman grunted as he released Leafa's arm, looking down in irritation. "Damn it, we don't have the time to be put in a mess like this. Kirito has all the time he'll need, but…"

"Asuna only has a few more days." Klein sighed, placing a hand on his head. "And there's no telling what other roadblocks we might run into on the way to them."

"Then we take the guarantee." Sachi spoke up, walking up to Leafa. "How far away is the meeting from here?"

"Sachi?"

"I'm worried for him too Hachiman, but we can't risk the ambush to happen." Sachi said as she looked back to the mage, looking downcast as she did. "I want to get to Kirito as soon as possible, and I want to see Nadar have some semblance of peace with Asuna; but that just means we can't let the Dark Wraiths win. If they do, we won't make it in time regardless of what we do. We have to win, we WILL win."

Hachiman remained silent as he looked to the swordswoman, a mixture of amazement and contempt on his face as he imagined the visage of Sachi when he first saw her. The scared and timid girl was long gone, replaced by a confident and strong player. And at the end of the day, what had caused this drastic change was the hell they faced back in SAO; a hell that turned all of the survivors present into the fighters they are.

"Well then…" Hachiman smirked as he grabbed his staff from his back, motioning to Sachi. "Lead the way, Moonlit Swordswoman."

"Thank you Hachiman." Sachi nodded, smiling before turning to Leafa. "So where are we going?"

"It isn't far from here, just a ten minute run in that direction." Leafa spoke, pointing to a series of high hills at the base of a mountain.

"If we're lucky we'll get there before the Dark Wraiths do." Sachi said before walking over to Yui and kneeling. "Yui, I need you to get on my back. We'll be going as fast so I don't want to leave you behind."

"Okay mommy." Yui nodded before climbing on the swordswoman.

"Looks like we're going right back into the fray." Klein grinned as he cracked his knuckles. "Third times a charm as I always say."

"Well then, let's hope that old saying works out." Anra stated, the group running to follow Leafa as she led the way.

 _'I'm sorry Kirito…'_ Sachi thought as she looked down. _'You're going to be stuck for a little longer.'_

* * *

"Hey Andrew, sorry if I'm a little late." Nadar said as he entered the bar, taking his jacket off and putting it on the coat hanger. He was dripping wet, outside the weather having taken a visible turn for the worst.

"No, you're about on time." Agil smiled from behind the counter before noticing Nadar's hair and clothes being soaked. "You did not just walk through that rain."

"It started halfway on the walk, didn't exactly decide it was for the best." He admitted, closing the door behind him.

Having a look at the boy now, Agil internally flinched; he could see the defeat across Nadar's entire body. Even without the dripping clothes, his deflated and sloppy posture was a sight he never saw on him. It tore him up a bit seeing the once feared executioner turn into a shell of himself. Even more over the piling trouble that seem to be thrown at him.

"That bad, huh?" Nadar asked, not having to look up to the man to know that he was concerned. "I figured as much…"

"Andrew, everything should be done in a few minutes." Kathy spoke as she walked in from the back, turning to Nadar when she followed Agil's glance. "Oh Asashi, you're…" The woman was happy to see the boy, but the moment she saw his condition she instantly grew concerned and walked around the counter to him. "Oh Asashi, you're completely soaked."

"Yeah… rain picked up halfway here." Nadar said, continuing to look down as he did.

"Come on, you look awful." Kathy gently took a hold of Nadar's shoulders, guiding the boy to the back as she spoke. "Let's get you dried off and then in a new pair of clothes. You always leave a spare here right?"

Nadar didn't speak in response, instead just nodding as he continued to walk next to Kathy. When they passed Agil, Kathy and him shared worried glances; knowing well that the boy was in a worse condition then they were expecting.

It didn't take Nadar long to dry off change into his spare clothes, a simple white shirt and grey pants, before the three set the table for dinner. Afterwards, the first couple minutes were spent in painful silence, none of the three knowing where to start on what was going on. For Nadar, it was simply from a lack of wanting to talk; on the other hand Agil and Kathy felt they would be treading on thin ice, both of their concern growing each second in silence.

Eventually though, Agil coughed into his hand, clearing his throat before he began to speak. "So Nadar, Klein and the others said you had a bit of an… incident yesterday in DSO?" The man couldn't think of a better way to ease into the topic, deciding that just confronting it right away would do the best.

"Understatement of the day." The boy would respond quietly, twisting his straw around in his water.

"What happened Asashi?" Kathy asked.

"We were caught by a guild of PK players. They were after Le… Suguha and Sara after they were banished. We fought, I killed one, and the sudden reminder that I'm fighting in VR kicked in." Nadar detailed simply, looking to his plate as he did.

"Was there something familiar going on?" Agil asked. "Was the fight like one of your hunts with Hachiman? Or an encounter with a murder guild back in Aincrad?"

"…They reminded me of the worst I saw on Aincrad. From the Serpent Strikers, to Laughing Coffin there were some level of similarity between the guilds from SAO and them."

"So fighting them reminded you of the criminals and you got scared?" Kathy guessed.

"No, that made me want to kill them more." He admitted, tightening his free hand as he did. "When I saw them enjoying hunting others in VR, the reminder of those bastards made me want to… to…" As soon as his anger came, it faded away and was replaced with fear, Nadar placing both of his hands on his head.

"Hey man, don't push yourself." Agil said, him and Kathy already out of their chairs to kneel next to him. "You went through a lot more in SAO then most of us, it's okay to have been afraid of what was going on. Getting jumped by so many PKers was probably a lot to handle."

"No Andrew, I didn't care that I was being faced with killers." Nadar spoke, shaking slightly as he gripped at his hair. "I didn't give a damn about getting killed, I knew it wasn't SAO and I had no reason to be afraid of dying. But… but the… the lower my health got; the more I wanted them dead. And the closer I got to the edge I felt more like… like I was Aincrad's Executioner."

"What do you mean?"

"Kathy I… I killed a lot of people." Nadar's shaking was slowly growing, mirroring his panic attack from yesterday and earlier as he thought more. "I had hunted criminals of all kinds; from the petty thief to the worst of murderers. There wasn't a single bounty I would turn away; and for the first year I… I… I…" Nadar then felt the burning of his tears; watching as they dropped to the plate.

"I killed without hesitation, for even the pettiest of crimes I took a player's life like it… like it was the dirt underneath my boots!" He began to yell, slamming his fists onto the table, bruising his skin and opening the nail cuts on his palms. "I saw them as scum! I saw… I saw the same piece of trash that deserved to be purged without question!"

"I played God, damn it! I was judge, jury and executioner; I killed people whose only crime was taking a coin purse of a few hundred Col! I was nothing but a glorified killer; I'm no better than the murderers that I hunted for sport! And that was the very same reason that I did it! I got a sick kick out of killing people, I hated Laughing Coffin because they were no god damn different than me!"

"Asashi, you don't mean that." Kathy responded. "You're just a kid, you were thrown into a situation no one could have prepared for. You did what you had to."

"No I didn't, I did what I wanted to!" He continued to yell, tightening his fists more and digging deeper into his skin. "For all my life I was weak and pushed around, I had only one thing in my life that made all of the pain bearable and then I… I went and… I… god…" Nadar's crying became more intense, forming his own words becoming difficult as he closed his eyes tight.

"I'm scared of myself…" He eventually admitted after a minute of silence, his shoulders shaking as he did. "I killed 237 players in SAO, either directly by my blade or by being near them. I was the worst murderer in Aincrad, and I had nearly no restrictions in my hunting."

"So that's why you've been against going back into VR." Agil spoke, placing a supportive hand on the boy's shoulder. "You think that going back will turn you back into the Executioner of Aincrad again."

"I can't face that life, not again. I killed too many, all because I assumed I would be dead by the end as well. But now… now there's 300 players trapped and each of them deserved to make it out more than me."

"Asashi, please look at me." Kathy said, getting the boy to slowly turn his head to her. When he did, he was caught off guard as the woman wrapped him in a supportive hug, cradling the back of his head with a hand and letting his chin rest on her shoulder. "Don't ever, for a single moment of your life, think that you don't deserve the chance you have."

"B-But I… so many and I…"

"Yes, you killed a lot of players, far more than you actually needed to. And you claim to do it all because you saw yourself in each of them. But answer me this; from the rough 200 players you killed, how many did you save?"

"Wh… What?"

"Humor me." Kathy said quietly as she released Nadar from the hug, looking him in the eyes with a concerned look. "I want to hear your guess for how many players you think you saved."

"…" The boy was silent as he looked down, thinking back to all the types of criminals he had killed. For the first months in SAO, he didn't think of a single life that could've been spared by the kills he preformed. Not until he thought back to his time with the Moonlit Black Cats, remembering the Serpent Strikers and what they attempted to do to Sachi.

His eyes slowly widened in realization as he began to recall every fight against criminals after that fateful day. From his days hunting with Hachiman, to his first confrontation with Laughing Coffin, when he first met Silica, and his war against the murder guilds then after.

"…For the petty criminals, maybe a single player each." He began to speak, putting the numbers into perspective as he did. "Guilds like Titan's Hand, maybe 20 per guild. And for Laughing Coffin… roughly a hundred players per member, maybe more for the higher up of them."

"Then tell me, for what reason do you think you don't deserve a second chance?" Kathy asked. "You killed people, far more than anyone can condone. But after all that death, I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me that you didn't save far more people."

"We're not asking you to forget everything that you've done wrong, but you need to remember all the good you've done." Agil spoke, smiling to Nadar as he did. "No matter your reason, you threw yourself head first into every threat players faced. You ran so that others would be able to follow, even at the cost of your own life. From our first boss raid, to fighting Kayaba one-on-one, everything you did would open up an opportunity for others to move forward."

"But… that doesn't mean that I have any more right to be here than any of the others that are still trapped…"

"Then do them right." Kathy responded, pressing her finger against Nadar's chest, right over his heart. "Your only lead on freeing all of them is in DSO, if you believe that they deserve to be free more than you, you have to help get them out."

"You don't have to push yourself, but could you forgive yourself if you didn't do anything?" Kathy and Agil both then wrapped Nadar in a gentle hug, the boy completely caught off guard and unable to respond as they held him.

"We're here for you man, all of us." Agil said. "Sachi, Silica, Hachiman, Klein, even Asuna and Kirito. We'll help get you through this, but only if you want to."

Nadar's eyes then widened in surprise, tears continuing to run down his face as he was unable to think of what to say. Despite how he was, despite everything he's done, everyone keeps telling him that he deserves the chance to move on from what he's done in SAO. Deep down, he knows there's no chance of moving on, the two years will forever haunt him.

But as he was held in the two's embrace, the warmth began to remind him of the times between those torturous days. His time spent Kirito and Hachiman, when he developed a familial bond with Sachi and Silica, and to the greatest affect; the time he had spent with Asuna in the final days of SAO.

"Thank… thank you…" Slowly bringing his hands up, Nadar clutched at the two adults sleeves, embracing the hug as he allowed himself to cry out the remaining tears he had.

"Thank you…" Agil and Kathy would just smile to the boy's sobbing, feeling his body stop shaking as he accepted the embrace fully. It took a few minutes before his crying would stop, but when it did he took a calming breath and looked down.

"Thank you… for helping me despite everything." He said, the two slowly pulling away.

"Are you okay?" Kathy asked, knowing that they just put a lot on the boy mentally and emotionally.

"Honestly, I don't know…" He spoke, wiping the tears out of his eyes and off his face. Once he was done, a look of determination was seen on him. "But right now that's not what I'm focused on. There's still people trapped, people I'm responsible for. And I've made them wait for long enough."

"I'm sorry for cutting this dinner short, but could you drive me home?" Nadar asked Agil, looking over to the man. "I have to catch up to Sachi and the others; this isn't their burden to carry alone."

"Of course man, we understand." Agil nodded, smiling to see the renewed vigor enter the boy. "Traffic's getting a little bad with the weather, but I'm sure we'll get there quick enough."

"Thank you." The three were quick to the car; the rain pouring down as they slowly drove through the traffic. As they did, Nadar pulled his phone out and started to look through the DSO forum.

"What are you doing?" Kathy asked, looking back to him from the passenger seat.

"Looking up guides and tricks for DSO on the forum." Nadar answered. "It's similar to SAO in combat, but there's definitely a few different mechanics involved. If I'm going to be anywhere near as effective back then, I need to know everything about the game."

"Makes sense, you always were a fan of getting info quick." Agil smirked, recalling Nadar's days on the front lines. "Too bad we can't just ask Argo like back then."

"She's still recovering, I'm not putting that burden on her." Nadar chuckled. "Plus if I have to pay that greedy p.o.s. another mint I'm not going to have anything out here."

"Hahahahaha! I hear ya on that!"

As Nadar looked through the forum, he eventually came across a section labeled "Dark Wraith Raid" his interest growing as he looked at it. It was a live stream, only accessible outside of game as it had a block set on it.

 _'Dark Wraiths, didn't Suguha mention something about them back when we first got on?'_ He thought to himself, deciding that his interest was peaked and opened the live stream. At first, there was nothing big, just a player's HUD as he recorded his gameplay; seeing around 64 other players clad head to toe in black armor with twisted growth and an ominous hood.

The Dark Wraiths were appearing to surround a group of players, none of which he recognized but could tell were likely important in some regard. It wasn't until a he saw that behind the group of other players he saw silhouettes. At first glance it was impossible to distinguish them, but as soon as he saw a kid on the back of one it immediately clicked.

"Oh you've got to be shitting me."

"Nadar?"

"How much further are we out from my apartment?" Nadar asked inceptively.

"A few minutes, why?" Kathy asked.

"Well, here's hoping they can last long enough."

* * *

"Kirito… Kirito…"

"Mmmmnnnn…"

Back on the top of Anor Londo, Kirito and Asuna remained entrapped in their cells, the swordsman's efforts on cutting the bars doing nothing but leaving countless scratches. And after nearly two days straight of swinging the sword spear in his possession, his avatar nearly collapsed and he was forced to recover, resting on the single stone bed left for him.

"Kirito, wake up…"

"Ugh, I feel so heavy…" He groaned as he sat up, the bed and fatigue he had both weighing down on his avatar's condition. "I barely got any of my stamina back from all of those swings."

"I know, I'm sorry that I had to wake you up." Asuna would say, standing at her cell's bars.

"No, it's okay." He responded as he cracked his neck, the stone doing a number on him before he turned to her. "So what's up? Did you figure something out?"

"I think I figured out my lock's code." She stated, getting a surprised look out of him.

"Wait, but I thought he would block visual access on the area when he'd put in the code?"

"He does, but the effect doesn't register on reflected surfaces." Asuna would look back to her cell, noting the mirror over her much more lavished bed. The length Sugou's gone to trap and attempt to seduce made her sick to her stomach in her stomach, but in this instance it had been far more helpful for their escape.

"We actually have a chance of getting out." Kirito muttered to himself, looking down as he thought about the attempt.

"We have to hope that the code works for everyone first." Asuna reminded, walking to the out of place number pad. Typing in the password she followed off of Sugou, both held their breath with each click. And as she got to the final number of the code, it was so silent that the sound of a pin dropping could be heard.

But once it was put in, a new vigor formed in the two as the door to Asuna's cell slowly opened. The two now had the opportunity to escape, after months of imprisonment they truly had the chance to free themselves from Sugou's trap.

"Don't worry Nadar, I won't give up." Asuna would whisper to herself, taking a calming breath before running over to Kirito's cell, bypassing the need for Kirito to discover his own code.

With his cage opened, the Black Swordsman found a second wind of strength, grabbing his swordspear and running out. They shared a single glance before nodding, running for the exit to the room. A single seal was on the door, a circular glyph that pulsed with light every few seconds before dimming out.

"If I remember, this is just a simple…" Asuna would mutter, placing her palm on the glyph as it began to glow. The action proved effective, the light spreading throughout the door before causing it to disappear. The two then hid on other sides of the exit, Kirito looking out to the corridor for any potential guards. And while there was no guards in sight, the swordsman quickly realized how out of place the corridor was, a clean white and gold shine with an almost futuristic look.

"All clear." He'd say before taking the first step in, leading the way for the two down the lengthy hallway. The two began to take the trek down, being careful and quiet with each step they took. It was at this moment the two were grateful that their equipment had no real armor involved; Kirito's only covering on his feet being old wrappings while Asuna had nothing.

"How long does this go for?" Asuna whispered after the two continue to walk for nearly ten minutes, having no idea where they even were in the area.

"I'm not sure, maybe it doesn't have an end." Kirito guessed. "Perhaps we need an idea of where we're supposed to go in order to find it."

"How are we supposed to know if there isn't even a maAAPP!?" Before Asuna could finish, a section of the wall she was pressing against seemingly vanished, the girl falling to the floor.

"Asuna!" Kirito looked back in shock before kneeling next to her, offering her a hand up. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah I'm fine, the wall just…" The two's gaze then slowly shifted to the new room they were in, noting the dozens of small consoles throughout the room. "…Disappeared."

"What the hell?" Kirito questioned in shock, his eyes widening as he saw holographic brains above each console. "What the hell is all of this?"

"They're…" Asuna clasped her hands over her mouth, her mind playing back to one of the first conversations had with Sugou since they were trapped in DSO. The recollection of manipulating minds with sensations and other altercations to perception. "They're players from SAO."

"What?" Looking down in anger, Kirito tightened his hold on his swordspear with both hands. "So not even everyone was let out. Sugou you bastard!"

"He won't get away with this." Asuna said as she placed a hand on one of the consoles. "I… I don't know if you can hear me, but we'll get you out of this. I promise."

Kirito's ears then perked up as he felt a chill go down his spine; driving him to grab Asuna and book it for the far side of the room. Sheathing his weapon on his back, the swordsman attempted to hide best he can while holding a hand over Asuna's mouth, not having the time to explain what happened before the wall they entered from disappeared again.

"Well then, let's see what's going on here." What entered the room after were two massive players covered head to toe in shining silver armor. They each had a single shield on their left arm while one had a longsword on his hip and the other with a spear. Their stature itself was intimidating, standing over seven feet tall, which was increased by the curved horns on their helmets.

 _'They must work for Sugou.'_ Kirito concluded, seeing them walk to monitor one of the consoles. _'If they caught us, I don't know if this weapon would hold them back, or even if they have privileges to paralyze us like Kayaba did.'_

"We need to go." Kirito whispered, looking down to Asuna. "After we move, there's no talking. Nothing but the breathing you need, otherwise we might get caught." Asuna shook her head, confusing Kirito. "What do you mean, if we stay in here for much longer we could get caught."

Giving Kirito a dry look, she placed a hand on his own, drawing his attention to the fact he was still keeping her quiet. "Oh… sorry." He muttered apologetically, taking his hand off of her mouth. "So you were trying to say?"

"There's a console at the far end of the room." Asuna pointed out, motioning to the other side of the room.

Being sure to avoid getting spotted, Kirito looked around the console they were hiding behind to see a floating mass where the girl was pointing. It was continuously changing shape, making it impossible to put down just what it was. But it appeared to be made of the same material of the admin console Yui used on Aincrad, making it their best bet for escape.

"Okay, we'll give it a shot." Kirito nodded. "You have the best chance of making it without being caught, you go first and try to see what you can do on the console. I'll stay back in case they see you."

"But you'll be-"

"You're the one we need to get out of here." Kirito argued. "If I get out, then we don't achieve anything that could take Sugou down. But you, your dad will listen to you. If you tell him what's going on, and get him to investigate even based on a few claims, Sugou will be shut down and everyone gets let out."

"…Okay." Asuna nodded, looking down as she did. She wasn't comfortable leaving Kirito in VR while she would be able to escape; her time as the KoB second made her set on getting everyone out before herself. But she knew the stakes, she knew that what he said was right, her father wouldn't trust just anyone making a claim against Sugou.

Letting go of her completely, Kirito would watch as Asuna got up and would quietly make her way towards the other side of the room. Turning to get on a knee, he would keep his eyes on the two silver armored moderators, reaching back to grab his swordspear.

 _'Beating them might be impossible, but if I can stall them for just a few seconds Asuna can get out.'_ He thought, taking a calming breath as he mentally prepared himself for when he would be left alone.

As he did, Asuna made it to the floating mass of interchanging shapes; the mass turning strictly into a square when she was close enough. Seeing the card impeded in it, she pulled it down while holding her breath, praying that the Log Out function would be available to her.

 _'Please work!'_ She thought, seeing a series of menus open up in response to her actions. Looking down to the transport option, she breathed a sigh of relief, seeing Log Out clear as day.

As she was about to press the button, she heard the sound of armor clanking and turned at the last second to see not one of the two moderators she saw enter; but a third even larger player covered in what appeared to be a burnt and charred version of their armor. He had a massive two-handed sword in his right hand, a larger version of the two's shield covering his left.

"Asuna!" Kirito shouted as he rolled out of his cover, gripping his spear tight as he planted his feet firmly into the ground. "Damn it!" Pushing with as much force as he could, Kirito cleared the room in an instant, impaling his spear into the new moderator and crashing the two of them into a nearby wall.

"Kirito!"

"Go, get out of here!" Kirito shouted as he and the moderator got up, the swordsman jumping back to avoid a heavy swing from him.

Trusting his abilities, Asuna was about to turn to press the button when she was caught off guard by one of the two original moderators grabbing her arm. "Whoa there, what the hell do you think you're doing-GAH!?"

Reacting out of instinct, Asuna twisted her body up and brought her foot down from over the moderator in a powerful kick. Remembering that he stats were relatively the same as they were in SAO, she then kicked his chest, not causing any damage but knocking him off balance and getting him to release her.

When she landed back on the ground, she saw that the third moderator was fast approaching, spear in hand as his avatar's eyes began to glow. Making a split second decision, Asuna turned to the console and moved her left arm to press the button while reaching for the keycard in the console with her right.

Before she could press the button she felt the spear slash into her side, knocking her off her feet and rolling away from the console.

"Asuna!" Kirito looked away from his fight to see Asuna get knocked away, leaving him open to a powerful upward slash that sent him into the air. Grunting in pain, the swordsman's eyes narrowed in anger as he gripped his swordspear and twisted his body, crashing it into the side of the moderator's chest and sending him against the wall.

 _'No damage, damn it…'_ Given their situation, Kirito was unable to damage the moderator, however if his health was anything to go by the moderators couldn't do damage to them either. Which meant that even a force log out after a death wasn't possible as long as their status was immortal.

But focusing on his friend, Kirito landed on the ground and ran to Asuna, standing between her and the two silver armored moderators.

"Okay, what the hell are you two doing here?" The spear moderator questioned, pointing the end of his spear at the Black Swordsman.

"They're trying to escape." The black armored moderator explained, standing up before approaching the two. "Sugou has me and the other Black Knights on stand-by when there's unauthorized releases within the tower. Those two managed to somehow escape from the cells they were being kept at."

"Wait, so these are the two?" The sword moderator asked, looking to the two players.

"They are." The Black Knight stated, stopping a few feet away from Kirito. "So are the two of you coming quietly, or am I going to have to drag your bodies back up to your cells."

"You're not going to get the chance you-!"

"We'll go." Asuna interrupted Kirito, surprising the boy as she slowly got up from the floor, her hands folded together in front of her. "We can't win these odds Kirito, it's best we go along with it and just go back."

"Smart choice, I see why the boss has his eye on you." The Black Knight spoke, motioning to the illusionary wall they all entered from. "Now get moving, I'll see you back to your cells."

Kirito remained standing in a defensive position for a few seconds, not wanting to just give up so easily. But when he saw Asuna's calm demeanor, he eventually relented and lowered his guard, the two walking next to each other as they left.

The swordsman looked over to Asuna, sending a silent question on why they would just surrender. Making sure that the Black Knight didn't see anything, she then revealed that the keycard from the console was in her hand, shocking Kirito at the sight. He was able to keep his surprise hidden, the two now focusing on walking back while the massive knight trailed behind them.

 _'We were stopped this time, but this won't be the end of it.'_ Asuna thought. _'I know we can escape, and without the console this has to be our best chance.'_ Hiding the keycard in her clothes, the girl tightened her hands into fists, her spirit just growing despite the setback.

 _'I'm sorry Sachi, it looks like we hit a bit of a roadblock.'_ Kirito sighed as he looked to the wall. _'Nadar, I know you're out there with them. We may not be able to escape ourselves, but we'll do everything we can to help you guys get in.'_

* * *

 **(A/N): So this chapter didn't quite come out the way I wanted. This was going to hold more of action to it, but given the status of Kirito's weaponry and the odds of a prisoner against three moderators, it didn't seem right to make it a fight. Also I was intending on this being a long chapter with the Eugene fight, but I couldn't find a good way to put it in after Nadar's scene in this and felt throwing the fight in now would really pile things on too fast.**

 **I don't normally like pushing scenes back and putting a new one in, but I feel it's best to give the next chapter the attention that it deserves. I hope that this chapter was a decent one to hold over until the next chapter and you all have a good day. Peace!**


	31. Gravelord's Executioner

"Alright, we're here." Agil said as he parked in the driveway of Nadar's apartment complex. "Is there anything else we can-"

"I'll call if there's anything!" Nadar quickly responded, unfastening his seatbelt and booking it out of the car. "Thanks for the talk, made things a bit better!"

"Are you sure you don't need anything right now!?" Kathy called out as Nadar started running up the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" He shouted. "I gotta power through this before I can really consider anything else!"

"That kid…" Kathy sighed as she sat back, smiling as she watched him run up. "You weren't kidding when you said he could move when he wanted to."

"He has his ups and downs, but I've never seen him stay down for long." Agil chuckled as he looked over to her. "It's too bad we gave him our copy of DSO, I feel we're going to miss a real ass kicking."

"Well, he figured out about the raid on the forum right?" Kathy asked, pulling out her phone. "While we drive back, I'll keep it up, see if the fun starts then."

"Kathy, this is why I love." Agil smiled before he started to pull out. As he was about to turn, he paused for a second to give a grateful expression. "Thank you for helping with him, I don't know if I could handle something that personal with him on my own."

"He shouldn't have to face this alone." Kathy responded, looking down to her phone. "His father should be the ones to help him through this, but I wouldn't hesitate to help him for a second. He's just a kid."

 _'Sometimes I forget that.'_ Agil admits to himself, looking up to Nadar's apartment to see the boy shut the door behind him. _'And I think he does too.'_

When Nadar closed the door behind him, he only set on of the two locks on before sprinting to his room, not even shaking his slightly dampened clothes off before putting on his NerveGear and dropping onto his bed.

"No more excuses this time." He would say to himself, taking a calming breath before looking up to his roof as his NerveGear booted up. "Job's not finished yet. Not yet."

"LINK START!"

Going through the loading, Nadar would feel his consciousness resurface into the VR world once more. The moment he opened his eyes to the amber sunset sky, he found himself lying on the ground, shooting up to his feet immediately as he began to look back and forth.

"Hold on Sachi, I'm coming!" He took only three steps before stopping, his eyes widening as a problem dawned on him. "I don't know where the stupid ambush is at!? How could I forget something as simple as to…! Take it slow Nadar, breathe." In the middle of his temporary panic, the player would begin to clear his mind, taking a second to collect himself from his burst of energy from his newfound inspiration.

"They can't be too far, it looked like the meeting was still within the Sun's territory. If I can just narrow down the area of search I might get lucky and find them in… an hour." He then sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Maybe I should have taken a few steps back before rushing in."

"What the?" Nadar's ears perked up as he heard a voice behind him, turning to see Vincent in a set of grey and red armor, a mace on his hip as Recon and several other players were with him. "You're Leafa's friend, Nadar right? What are you doing back here?"

"Vincent, good it's you and Scout." Nadar would say as he turned around to them.

"My name's Rec-"

"Don't care right now." Nadar said as he walked up to Vincent. "Look, I don't have much time to explain everything, but I sort of got left behind by everyone. Something came up and I didn't get on with them today. But right now something big is going on and I need to find them."

"You know about the raid, don't you?" Vincent would ask, on the same page with Nadar as the player nodded. "That's where we're going right now. I know the location and we have a straight path to assist the guards while Leafa and your friends cause a diversion. We can be there in less than ten minutes if we're quick enough."

"Hold up." Nadar would say as he grabbed Vincent's shoulder. "I saw the numbers we're working against, the likes of you and the players here will be slaughtered in a straight up fight. And we don't even know if they may get reinforcements by the time we show up."

"What are you saying then?"

"Just follow my lead. I have an old trick that worked well in the past." Nadar would say, about to let the player lead the way before speaking again. "Oh, and one more thing."

"Yeah?"

"You sell rings right? Maybe a Caestus to go along with them?"

* * *

 _'Damn it, this isn't going well.'_ Hachiman was panting heavily, down on a single knee as his health had dropped to roughly half.

After he and the others reached the meeting point, the Darkwraiths had seemingly been waiting, almost expecting the group of players to make their appearance. This led to the commander of them to approach Hachiman, and after questioning his intentions offered the mage a chance to prevent this raid with a duel. It had started out fairly balanced, but it started to become clear the fight was becoming a battle of endurance fast.

"What's the matter, already feeling yourself get tired?" Eugene, the general of the Darkwraiths grinned as he approached Hachiman, a crystal staff in hand as he approached. The player stood much taller than everyone present, his black and twisted armor adding onto the menacing glare he had in his eyes.

 _'I'm not getting anywhere like this…'_ Hachiman thought, staring at Eugene's health that was remaining at a comfortable 80%. Not only did the player have a high health pool, but also his damage and intelligence was nothing to scoff at. Granted magic weapons did less damage than physical, but it was no secret that his stats were clearly stacked against Hachiman.

 _'He's gotten both equipment and a stats advantage, and even then…'_ His eyes then trailed to Eugene's shoulder, seeing a sword hilt on his back that was connected to a wide blade, one he hasn't seen since it was still in its holster. _'He hasn't pulled his real sword out yet. He isn't taking this seriously yet.'_

"You throwing in the towel, or are you gonna try and fight a little more?" Eugene would ask, motioning the mage to get up as he stopped. "I'm starting to have a little fun, so the least you could do is last another minute or two."

"Don't you worry." Hachiman spoke, pushing himself back up to his feet as he regained his breath. "I got more than enough fight left in me."

"Good, then come at me!" Eugene's grin would grow as he swiped his staff to the side, summoning a massive magic greatsword over the crystal equipment.

Taking a step forward, Hachiman would summon several Soul Mass over his head, activating his magic spear as he lunged directly at Eugene. With his intense speed, he was able to land a blow to the player's chest without fault, having the speed advantage between them.

However his attack did little to break Eugene's poise, and the player swung his magic greatsword in response, Hachiman barely ducking below to avoid the powerful weapon. He then would slash across Eugene's side before turning and blocking, the massive magic weapon striking against his spear and sending him several feet back from the force.

As he was hit, his Soul Mass detected Eugene and shot out, causing Eugene to smirk as he swung in a wide arc to destroy most of the projectiles. Two managed to hit his avatar though, the damage connecting as Hachiman held his staff out, charging a soul arrow and firing it.

This time Eugene made the movement to dodge, watching as his opponent would summon another Soul Mass before shooting out after him. The two's weapons clashed, preoccupying Eugene's focus and allowing the spells to shoot out and circle around, hitting his back and dealing extra damage.

"Not bad rookie, you've got guts!" Eugene would say, his health dropping a bit as he began to push Hachiman back. "Maybe if you worked on your strength more, you might've been able to do more lasting damage."

"My damage is more than fine to take you on!" Hachiman would say, pushing off from Eugene and getting slashed across his chest, taking a part of the damage as only the edge of the blade hit him. As he slid back he'd fire another Soul Spear, Eugene now on the offensive and running after him.

"Then show me what you're saving up for!" Eugene would demand, his eyes flashing with a fire for a second before the two clashed again, wisps of magic forming around them from their blades connecting.

"I hate this." Klein spoke as he tightened his fist, watching as Hachiman would dodge a vertical slash from Eugene. "We should be helping him, not sitting on the sidelines and just watching him fight!"

"He agreed to the duel, there isn't much more you can do on that." Sakuya, the leader of the Sunlight Covenant stated as she stood by her guards, everyone watching as the battle continued.

"Yeah, kinda a risky gamble to just challenge Eugene of all people to a one-on-one duel. But then again it really is our best chance." Alicia Rue, the Blue Sentinels leader spoke, wincing as she saw Hachiman take a sharp kick to the gut.

"What do you mean?" Sachi asked, turning to the two women while standing protectively by Yui.

"Eugene's a dangerous threat on his own, but in a team battle he's the most dangerous kind of player." Sakuya explained. "Aside from being powerful, his high HP makes him a viable tank; he has more than enough skill to fight multiple opponents at once and allow his allies to go in for attacks while they're distracted by him."

"No one's beaten Eugene in a fight since this game came out, the guy's a total monster with his high attack, health and intelligence. No one knows just what kinds of spells or Attunement he has cause he only uses two spells normally. Not to mention the sword he's keeping under wraps." Alicia continued, pointing out the fact.

"He's not even taking this fight seriously, this isn't good." Leafa said.

"Saizo…" Anra would say, watching as Hachiman ducked and jumped back to avoid getting cleaved by Eugene's next two swings. She knows this fight is weighing heavily on him, as it determined if they'd be able to make it to Anor Londo in the next few days. And with how much he was pushing himself, she was afraid losing would crush him.

"Isn't there anything we can do to help?" Silica asked.

"Unless you want all of the Darkwraiths to attack at once." Alicia stated. "Then we'll just be back in the same situation as before."

As she said that, Silica's ears twitched, her detection skill picking something up and getting her to turn away from the fight. _'What is that? Clanking?'_

 _'He doesn't have any openings!'_ Hachiman cursed mentally, barely avoiding Eugene's latest attack as he jumped back. The fight was starting to wear down on the player more, as his health was dropping closer to the critical level from the damage he's taken.

"You're at your limit." Eugene would say, swiping his staff to dismiss the magic greatsword. The action surprised everyone, as he remained still, virtually leaving himself open to an attack.

That however changed as magic began to build up at the end of his staff, enough that his arm was beginning to be pushed back from the force of the magic alone. The charge up was growing more intense until just as it reached its peak, suddenly condensing into a sphere when Hachiman realized what Eugene was doing.

"Oh shit!" Attempting to dash to the side, Hachiman watched as Eugene aimed in his path, predicting the dodge attempt in the final moments of his charge. And in the next second, a large stream of pure magic shot out at the mage, hitting him directly and sending him crashing back into the tree line, nearly shattering a tree from the force of the impact.

"Saizo!" Anra shouted as she ran for the boy, seeing his health just stop at 1%, kneeling next to him in concern out of instinct. "Are you okay!? Saizo!"

"Yeah, yeah I'm… fine." He grunted as he fought to stand up, feeling his avatar reach its limit in damage absorption. "I still have a bit of… damn it." Taking a step forward, he fell down to his knees; unable to move anymore from the pain he was feeling.

 _'It's more intense than SAO's detection, but it wasn't this bad before…'_ Hachiman wondered, trying to understand why the pain was more clearly felt than it was in previous fights.

"Well then, it looks like your would be champion isn't able to continue." Eugene would say, looking over to Sakuya and Alicia while their guards moved in a defensive position. "So are you going to come quietly, or is there going to be more blood on my staff by the end of this?"

"You know we won't ever submit to you, Eugene." Sakuya stated in response, unsheathing her katana while Alicia put on her Manikin Claws. "You want to gain our territory, you'll have to defeat each and every one of us."

"Good, that'll make things more fun for us." Eugene would say, holding his hand up for a signal for his troops. "Archers, on my mark fire a volley."

The indication had the rest of the players all pull out their weapons, standing defensively as they expected a barrage of arrows were to come. While the guards went to protect their leaders, Sachi would move to stay in front of Yui while Anra went to protect Hachiman.

"Ready! Aim!" Eugene smirked as he threw his hand down, signaling the volley. "Fire!"

.

.

.

"Fire!" Eugene repeated, confusing everyone as the volley that was meant to rain down never came. The Darkwraith would attempt to signal the volley one more time before turning around, his glare scaring the troops that were with him. "Where the hell is the volley archers!?"

"Mommy, I'm beginning to pick up more player signals" Yui spoke up from behind Sachi, getting her mom's attention. "They're in the tree line, around the area Eugene is likely giving the signal to."

"What do you think it is?" Sachi asked.

"I believe its reinforcements, but the number of players seems inefficient to stop the Darkwraiths there." Yui explained, calculating the data as she closed her eyes. "But there's definitely players there, most of them from the Sun Covenant."

"Vince made it in time." Leafa smiled, figuring out it had to be his party that made it.

"There's one other one though." Yui stated, noting as she saw a form of data moving between the different players. "It feels like…" Her eyes then opened wide and a smile formed on her face, the girl stepping past Yui to get a better view. "It's Uncle!"

"What!?"

"The hell is the brat getting all on about?" Eugene wondered, looking back to the group for a second before turning back to the forest line, his eyes widening as he saw a player get knocked right out into the open, rolling across the dirt like a ragdoll.

"First rule of engagement: Make sure you have the advantage!" The next second Nadar was running out of the forest, flanked by Vincent and Recon as he rushed towards the nearest Darkwraith.

The player would bring his sword up to attempt to strike him, but was interrupted as an arrow pierced his arm, stopping him from going through the full swing. Nadar took advantage of the opening and brought his blade up hard against the player's chest, leaving a deep cut and sending him into two other Darkwraiths.

"Nadar!" Sachi called out as she saw her brother run through the spread out platoon of Darkwraiths, going for the direct path top the group.

"Vinny go right. Scout take the left." Nadar ordered as he held his executioner sword in his hand, his eyes staring dead at Eugene as the player grinned.

"You're insane, we have to go wide!" Vincent responded. "Eugene's range is too much to avoid with our stats, we have to go further to avoid him!"

"Who said anything about avoiding!?" Nadar questioned as he grabbed the back of Vincent's armor. "You go right!" He shouted as he threw the player up, surprising him with his strength as he flew over Eugene. "And you go left!"

"Wait I'm not comfortable with thIIIIIISSSSSSSS!" Recon wasn't given time to prepare himself as Nadar repeated the process with Recon, the two clearing the gap that was Eugene before heading for the ground.

Luckily for them, as they were about to hit the ground Leafa and Silica ran forward, catching them and helping them keep balance as they touched the ground.

"And now I go through you!" Nadar shouted as he gripped his greatsword with both hands, lunging forward and slashing downward at Eugene. The Darkwraith grinned in response and summoned his magic greatsword, blocking the attack as it connected. His grin went away for a second though as he felt his feet give up an inch, Nadar's force enough to push him back.

This caused Eugene to toss Nadar over him. Turning as the executioner managed to flip over his shoulder, he'd watch as he placed a hand on the ground and dug his fingers in; skidding back on his feet while halting himself right in front of the group of players.

"Who the hell are-?" Before he could finish his question, Eugene was interrupted as Nadar stood up and impaled his sword into the ground, stepping away from it to turn to the others.

"Hey guys… I'm here now." He'd say awkwardly, feeling guilty over earlier. However he was met immediately by a hug from Yui, the AI having run right to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"I was worried…"

"It's okay Yui, it won't happen again." He promised placing a hand on the back of her head to return the hug.

"Hey man, are you… okay?" Klein tried to ask, nervous of what to say after the outburst Nadar had in the morning.

"Doctor's out for now, I'll get back to you on that." Nadar said in response, chuckling to his own joke. Seeing the concern everyone had though, he'd close his eyes and take a calming breath. "I'm not feeling good, but I don't have the luxury to sit and do nothing."

"Nadar you… you don't have to do this." Sachi spoke, stepping to her brother. "We know you're afraid of being in VR, you can trust us to handle this if it's too much."

"I'm fine for now Sachi, I promise."

"You know if I had a watch I'd be looking at my wrist REALLY condescendingly right about now." Eugene would say, crossing his arms as he got everyone's attention. "Mind wrapping this up so business here can be done."

"Gladly." Nadar said, stepping back from Yui and kneeling down to her. "Uncle's going to be okay Yui. Keep an eye on everyone while I take care of this jerk will ya?" He'd ask, winking to the girl with a smile.

"Kick his butt Uncle." Yui responded, nodding in understanding as she felt his brainwaves. They were certainly far from being what would be ideal, but she could feel it in the coding; the remnants of what she felt from him back in SAO, this time showing more signs of anxiety than rage.

Giving a single nod back, Nadar would stand up to his full height, closing his eyes as he took once last breath to calm his nerves, clenching his fist as he moved to turn. _'Okay Executioner…'_ He'd think as he opened his eyes, his iris flashing red for a second as he steeled his nerves. _'Let's do this.'_

"So you done now?" Eugene asked as Nadar walked towards his sword, ripping it out of the ground and resting it on his shoulder. "About time, I'm feeling antsy after the fight against your little mage over there."

Nadar wouldn't respond initially, simply holding his greatsword over his shoulder. Then without a word, he'd take a step towards Eugene. The Darkwraith didn't take the approach as a threat, but kept a close eye on the player as he'd take another step.

"Vincent, Leafa, do you know who that player is?" Sakuya asked the two as Nadar continued to walk towards Eugene, the wind dying down setting a foreboding tone.

"Yeah he's my… he's a friend of my brother's." Leafa answered, correcting herself before she made any assertions.

"What was he doing so far behind all of you?" Alicia would question, looking to the two in confusion.

"That's a bit of a story, but I wouldn't worry yourselves over that now." Hachiman would say, chuckling with a grin on his face as Anra helped him move next to everyone. "Right now I'd stare at the bloodbath that's forming in front of us."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Just watch." Hachiman said, his grin growing as Nadar's feet stomped into place as he stopped three meters in front of the Darkwraith. "You'll see what I mean in a minute."

"So then, a late ace in the hole huh?" Eugene questioned, having heard Hachiman's words as he looked down to Nadar. "So who are you then? You certainly aren't a Blue Sentinel or a Sunlight Warrior, not with equipment like that."

"The name's Nadar, I'd remember it if I were you." Nadar smirked as he looked to the Darkwraith. "It'll be imprinted on your ass after I kick the shit out of you."

"Oh, is that so?" Eugene's grin returned as he heard the threat, his arms going down to his sides as his interest was grabbed. "And what are you doing here? Attempting to broker a treaty with the two covenants?"

"What, a lie that simple? Nah I'll keep it simple and to the point." Nadar said. "Me and my friends are heading to Anor Londo, and my two guides are currently here. So I'm here to take them and get back on the road."

"And you think I'll just let you after that stunt you pulled?" Eugene stated, crushing a yellow stone in his hand, resulting in his health shooting back up to 100%.

"Well, normally I'd humbly request your ass move out of the way before I moved it, but I get the idea that won't cut it." Nadar said, looking back to the two covenant leaders as he weighed the situation. "And seeing as those two are there, it'd be a problem for us if you got their territory, so I can't quite let that slide either."

"So what will you do then, challenge me?" Eugene would ask, taking a second look at Nadar's equipment. "With gear like that you're best hunting a few newbies that are starting to level up, not tangle with the big boys."

"It isn't the quality of the equipment that determines the effectiveness of the player." Nadar responded. "And besides, I'm feeling lucky. So what do you say fire crotch?" Nadar would grin, his posture relaxed and excited as he looked to the Darkwraith with wide eyes. "You feeling lucky? I'm 237-2, and I don't intend on that record lowering to the likes of you."

"I don't know if you're cocky or confident brat, but I like your guts." Eugene would say as he swiped his staff to the side, summoning his magic greatsword. "I'll give you the same offer I gave your short friend: beat me and I'll call my troops off. Well, I'll consider it at least."

"Trust me, they won't want to fight after I drag your ass across this entire field."

That caused Eugene to chuckle, the Darkwraith's grin growing as he reached into his belt and pulled out a rusted coin. Not a word needed to be shared between the two as he flipped it with his thumb, both getting into a readied stance in preparation. The coin remained in the air for a second before hitting the dirt, beginning the duel between them.

Lunging out with surprising speed, Nadar was the first to strike with a heavy swing to the Darkwraith, who managed to block it with his magic weapon. Knowing better than to give up the advantage, Nadar would continue his attack, sending several heavy swings at Eugene with growing ferocity.

After the fifth strike though, Eugene would counter by swinging up, opening Nadar's guard and slashing across his chest. The attack though barely broke through his poise, causing the two to glare in determination as Nadar brought his greatsword down and cut vertically at Eugene's chest.

Both would then clash blades as they both swung up, ethereal sparks going off from their blades impact. Eugene would attempt two horizontal slashes aimed at Nadar's chest, getting blocked as the executioner held his sword vertically to take the blows. Immediately after, Nadar brought his weapon across for his own attack, the Darkwraith managing to block the attack with matching strength.

For almost a straight minute the two were simple trading attacks, blocking each one and watching as their health barely dropping as it did. After one last clash the two would jump back, bending their knees before lunging with great force. When their blades connected next, a gust of hot wind would go off around them, surprising the audience with the sudden intensity.

"Amazing, he's matching Eugene's blows." Sakuya said as the two would amp up their attacks, neither players willing to give up an inch in face of their opponent.

"Usually that would take a large mace or a greataxe to even consider, and this guy's doing it with a simple greatsword." Alicia added in, tilting her head in amusement at the sight. "He certainly isn't a pushover, that's for sure."

"Please this is nothing yet." Klein smirked, watching the fight as he saw the vigor of Nadar having returned to him. "Nadar's just testing the water, this fight will be a piece of cake for him."

"I wouldn't throw Eugene out of this yet." Sakuya stated. "True your friend is no doubt strong, but Eugene is known as the strongest player in this game for a reason. And he's yet to go all out himself."

"He'll win." Sachi responded, smiling as Nadar blocked a heavy blow from Eugene, the ground underneath the two visibly cracking as their pressure went up.

"Nobody's stronger than Uncle!" Yui nodded, watching the battle in growing excitement. "He'll kick that guys butt in no time!"

 _'They believe him that much?'_ Leafa wondered, staring at Nadar as he swung to match Eugene's latest attack, the two pushing their blades against each other as they attempted to overpower the other. She had heard the stories Sachi had told her of SAO, but aside from his limited time in DSO Leafa herself hadn't seen anything that stood out from the boy.

But as she watched the two powerhouses push with growing strength, she saw that he wasn't the same as he was IRL. There was a different intensity to him, his glare alone feeling as if it could light a player on fire. That he was looking at the next attack before it was even coming, an instinct she didn't expect from the frail boy behind the avatar.

 _'Please Asashi…'_ Leafa thought as she placed her hands together in prayer. _'Kazuto needs you, you can do it!'_

"Beat him!"

Hearing Leafa call out, Nadar's grin went down, his entire face turning stern as his glare heated up. And before Eugene realized it, Nadar brought his fist up for a hard blow to his gut, the damage bypassing his armor and stunning him. The action alone shocked most of the players, the requirement for such a feat being higher than what was possible for a new or even experienced player to achieve.

"You heard the lady." Nadar said as he gripped his greatsword with both hands. "I gotta beat you, and I'll do it." Slashing forward, Nadar landed a solid blow to the Darkwraith's chest, the impact forcing him several meters back with his feet digging into the dirt.

Eugene managed to remain upright, bringing his magic greatsword up for an attack as Nadar was fast on the approach. The executioner would swipe his weapon to block the first attack, bringing his greatsword up for his own attack and once again clashing with the Darkwraith as he pressed on.

They collided for a second time, though this time Nadar pushed through even more with his weapon, knocking Eugene's arm to the side and leaving him open for the next two swings, Nadar finishing it with a heavy punch to his gut, knocking the wind out of him and onto his back from the force.

"Damn, for a small fry he hits hard." Eugene admitted as he coughed a drop of blood out, the drop trailing down from the corner of his lip as he got back up. "Not gonna lie kid, you definitely got a bite to match that bark of yours. But it isn't going to be-!" Eugene was interrupted Nadar pressed his attack, the Darkwraith surprised at his advance while Nadar remained cold.

"I wouldn't waste your time talking, I don't plan on letting this fight go for long." Nadar stated coolly as he watched Eugene bring his weapon up, watching his timing before ducking under the slash, barely avoiding while taking only a chip of damage from the Darkwraith.

As he then slammed his right foot forward, Nadar would remained ducked down while spinning his greatsword behind his back, building up momentum before swinging out with both hands on the handle. Eugene attempted to block the attack, appearing successful for a moment before Nadar completely overpowered him and slashed across his gut, dealing a good amount of damage and knocking him several meters away on his back.

"This guy is no joke." Eugene groaned as he stood up from his position, Nadar standing from where he had struck him from in a mock challenge. "Gotta say I'm impressed, stats like yours with equipment that average makes me think you're some sort of reverse twink making things more challenging on yourself."

"Are you seriously doing this right now?" Nadar asked, raising an eyebrow as Eugene's magic greatsword was slowly dissipating, the Darkwraith allowing it to as he grinned. "We're dueling, not conversing. Get that weapon back out and let's get this over with."

"I couldn't agree more." Eugene would say as he looked up into the sky, noticing that the darkness was growing, the moon slowly rising into the sky as the night cycle came.

 _'Perfect timing.'_ The Darkwraith thought as he wiped his lip, removing the blood as he put the crystal staff behind his back.

"You gave me a decent thrashing right there, I don't doubt you have a higher Strength stat then me at the moment. But where you have more in one category." Eugene would then reach behind his back, gripping at the sword handle on his back as he breathed out with a wide grin, hot air forming from subtle sparks in his mouth. "I have far more variety and advantages."

"You say as you just got knocked to the ground twice in a row." Nadar said, getting into a readied stance as Eugene tightened his hold on his weapon.

"Oh don't get me wrong, I definitely underestimated you, thinking you were another glass canon like your friend." Eugene chuckled as he slowly unsheathed his greatsword, a shining blue medal reflecting the moonlight with surprising tranquility. "But now I know were you stand, and I won't be getting knocked down again."

"We'll see about that." Eugene had then completely unsheathed his sword to reveal a wide blade, an almost serene glow coming off it without producing any real light. The executioner though regarded it as any other blade, grinding his feet into the dirt as he prepared for round two.

"This will be the determining moment." Sakuya said as she saw Eugene enter his stance, much more composed and ready than he was before. "Eugene is taking this fight seriously now. With his weapon out I doubt it will be an easy battle for your friend."

"Must be one heck of a sword." Anra commented, wondering what it could be before looking to Hachiman. "What do you think it is Sai… Hachiman?"

"I'm not sure." He lied, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the all too familiar blade.

 _'It's one of the other. The only question is: is this the fake or the real deal?'_

The two swordsman would remain silent as they readied themselves for the second round, Nadar keeping his guard up as he expected Eugene to move any second now. As he did, he'd see the reflection of the half moon on his blade, the light coming off from it lightly illuminating the field they were in.

The fight then started once again as Eugene grinned, his sword glowing brightly with a faint greenish-blue light. At that moment both Nadar and Hachiman's eyes widened in shock at the view, however different as Nadar moved his blade in preparation of what his mind falsely believed to be an Agility skill from SAO.

"Nadar, no!" Hachiman called out as Eugene swung out at the executioner, however remaining in place confusing him. "It can fire projectiles!"

At Hachiman's words a slash of pure magic shot out at Nadar, phasing through his sword and striking him directly in the chest. The impact had actually stunned and sent Nadar flying, crashing back into a boulder.

"What was that!?" Sachi gasped in shock, not only surprised at the spell attack but how it had completely knocked Nadar off his feet.

"That was Moon Shift, the special ability of Eugene's weapon the Moonlight Greatsword." Sakuya stated, her eyes narrowing as dust was forming around where Nadar was hit into. "The Moonlight Greatsword can send out a pulse of magic in the direction he attacks in the same pattern. According to rumors, the closer the moon is to full, the more powerful its magic boosts and even increases his base stats."

"Based on the moon?" Klein asked, looking to see the half-moon in the sky. "That thing sent Nadar flying with only half strength?"

A second goes by before Nadar launches out of the cloud of dust, slashing down at Eugene who blocked the attack with ease, a smirk on his face as Nadar pushed against him.

"Well I'll be damned, you're still able to get up."

"It'll take more than that to take me down!" Nadar growled as the two disconnected, the executioner swinging heavy and hard with a two-handed form, each blow simply being blocked and deflected by the Darkwraith.

After the last strike of Nadar's combo, Eugene swung out in a wide arc, the executioner barely dodging as the blade's glow intensified. By the second swing he was able to do little more than block, his feet dragging into the dirt several meters before Eugene thrusted his sword forward and fired a narrow blast of magic. The projectile completely broke Nadar's guard and had him tumbling back, dirt kicking up from him rolling across the ground.

A second into rolling he was able to regain his composure and push up, getting back to his feet and skidding to a stop. Looking at his health, he saw that in the few swings Eugene had given his HP had dropped to just bellow the Darkwraith's.

 _'His damage has gone through the roof, we were equal at the start but that sword of his boosted him well beyond what I expected.'_ Nadar would think, taking a second to recollect himself and wipe the trace of blood from the corner of his lip. _'War of attrition's out of the question, I need to find a way around him.'_

Narrowing his eyes, he would get back into his stance before rushing forward. Swinging two heavy blows, he would watch as Eugene blocked each attack with relative ease, his strength managing against Nadar's and allowing him to return his own attack. Although his speed was boosted as well, Nadar was able to dodge under the swing and attempt to slice across his chest.

Flipping his blade, the Darkwraith would block his sword with the flat end of the Moonlight Greatsword, the blade's glowing intensifying as he pulsed the magic down and caused a torrent of air. Jumping back, Nadar would narrowly avoid a swing from Eugene, once again taking a blow as a magical projectile shot out of it and hit him across his body.

Recovering quicker than before, Nadar stopped on his feet and let go of his greatsword with his left hand, reaching to his belt and throwing three throwing knives at Eugene. The Darkwraith did little more than swing his sword out, knocking the knives away and sending out another slash of magic.

Lunging to the side, Nadar noted the time it took for the spell to reach him and began to rush after Eugene again, rearing his sword back while reaching for his waist behind his cape. Expecting a second weapon, Eugene would humor his attempt and block, watching as Nadar stopped right in front of him.

Pulling his left hand out, Eugene was caught off guard as Nadar swung his fist forward, clutching a firebomb as he struck the blade. The initial force of his punch managed to off balance him, and the following explosion broke his guard. Attempting to seize the opportunity, Nadar stabbed his greatsword forward, narrowly missing Eugene as the player recovered to only be grazed before jumping back.

 _'So that's your speed then?'_ Nadar would think, smirking as he saw the glare from Eugene. _'Don't know what I was expecting, he's no Lightning Flash.'_ He then stood his full height, his smirk turning into a toothy grin as he looked to Eugene.

"I'm going to crush you."

"Excuse me?" Eugene spoke, raising an eyebrow at Nadar's claim.

"You heard me, I'm going to crush you here and now." Nadar's grin was only countered by his confident posture, standing perfectly straight with his remaining arm extended to his side.

"Hehehe, a joker than?" Eugene asked, snickering at the executioner. "Your little trick didn't do much to any damage, and it cost you your left arm. You can't use your two-handed attacks anymore."

"I don't need it. All I need is my arm, and the drive to throw you into the wind!" With the announcement, Nadar ran right for Eugene, getting the Darkwraith to return the favor and charge after him.

"If you think you stand a chance, then I'll end you here and now!" Eugene shouted, the Moonlight Greatsword glowing brightly as a magic aura completely surrounded him. But as he was about to prepare for a full powered swing, he was forced to block as Nadar threw his greatsword, surprising everyone as the sword was knocked away.

"What is he doing!?" Leafa shouted. "Is he expecting to beat Eugene without his weapon!?"

"No, he's switching it up." Vincent stated, smirking as Eugene's and Nadar's approach continued, the Darkwraith grinning as he raised his sword over his head while Nadar reached for his left hip.

"Game over kid!" He'd announce as he swung down, aiming for Nadar's shoulder as he stopped. But just as the blade was about to touch him, Nadar wrapped his hand around the handle of his rapier and slashed forward, catching Eugene by surprise and landing a solid blow on his shoulder.

With the sudden impact, his attack was thrown off and the Moonlight Greatsword slammed into the ground next to Nadar, the executioner's grin growing as the player stared in shock and awe.

"What's the matter, didn't notice I had this?" Nadar would ask. "I wonder, you had the speed and strength advantage against a greatsword. But how will that translate to fighting against something more quick like a rapier?" Eugene's eyes would then widen in rage, the executioner's turn around in spite of his trump card infuriating him.

"You damn bastard!" Eugene would bring his greatsword up, attempting to slash across Nadar's stomach at close range. But due to the lightened load without his own greatsword, Nadar was able to dodge such a close attack with only a graze on his cheek while moving to the side.

As he was still in the position of finishing his swing, Nadar was able to jab his weapon forward and hit his shoulder and back, rolling across the ground behind him as he recovered and swung at him again. Getting onto a single knee, Nadar would wait until he was about to swing again before slashing forward, cutting his leg and disrupting his balance.

The executioner would follow by rolling out of the attempted attack, cutting his other leg as he passed by it. And as he stopped, Nadar would turn and jump forward, Eugene turning in time to get hit by a heavy blow on the right of his chest. The attack had enough power to impale through him, the action forcing his right arm to lock in place, making him unable to fight back.

"You're quite the opponent, usually I only ever think my fights against bosses through. However…" Nadar would then pull his rapier out, using Eugene's stunned state to deliver several quick slashes and jabs at the player. Before his eyes, Eugene saw his health drop rapidly, lowering significantly thanks to the player's complimenting stats. "I don't have time to waste on the likes of you."

"You won't win that easily!" Shouting in rage, Eugene's body appeared to spark to life, cinders beginning to form across his armor before he exploded in a burst of flames, the force knocking Nadar several meters back and causing his health to drop.

"Now what is going on!?" Klein shouted as the flames around Eugene died down, the cracks of cinders remaining across his body and growing across his face.

"Eugene has similar core data as Uncle, which means he must be an Ashen One!" Yui reported, seeing the overflow of data from the player matching that of Nadar's contained data.

"So he not only has the Moonlight Greatsword, but is also the Darkwraith's Ashen One…" Sakuya spoke, her eyes looking down as she gritted her teeth. "He was holding more behind than I thought, but it unfortunately makes sense as to his rise in strength."

"It doesn't matter, as long as Nadar is the one he's fighting he won't win." Sachi stated, her eyes narrowing as Nadar stopped himself on a single knee. "He'll win, no matter what he always makes it out."

 _'Great, another boost on top of his stupid greatsword.'_ Nadar thought as he glared, his grin turning to a snarl as he now took the whole situation seriously. _'I have to end this in the next hit.'_ Tightening his hand on his rapier, Nadar would stand up to his full height while Eugene reached behind his back, pulling out his crystal staff.

"You've done good so far Gravelord Servant, but this is where it ends." Rearing his arm back, everyone would recognize the buildup of his Soul Stream spell. His magic was condensing at the center and all Nadar would do is stand there, preparing for the attack as he felt the power grow.

"What is he doing, he's going to get hit by the spell!" Alicia would say, unable to understand why the player would simply stand in place as such a powerful spell was being primed.

"This spell will obliterate your health, this isn't like the one I used on your friend; it's boosted five times over with my two buffs!" Eugene announced, his grin hiding his thoughts of shared confusion at the executioner's lack of movement.

"Oh really?" Nadar asked, cracking his neck as he got into a readied position. "Well then, what are you waiting for? Let's flip that coin and see where it goes?"

"Tch, you're a strange one… but if that's what you want don't expect me to hold back!" Eugene would shout, throwing his arm forward and firing the beam of magic right at Nadar.

Standing in place, time would begin to slow as everyone watched the magic spell, half the spectators holding their breath as Nadar had simply refused to move.

Closing his eyes, Nadar would take a deep breath, feeling his hand shake for a second as his nerves popped up. But as he closed his eyes, he would see images of his early days in SAO with Kirito. How the player was reluctant but charged forward as a leader for the team of three. But then his thoughts shifted to Asuna, recalling the feeling of her hand in his, the sensation shifting to wrapping around his sword hand as her voice echoed in his mind.

 _"Nadar, go!"_

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Bellowing in rage, Nadar would lunge right at the beam, his body shifting and ducking to the right as the spell reached him. The force had struck his shoulder, causing him to spin as half his remaining health was lost from the second of impact. But as he spread his legs out the executioner would steady himself and continue to run forward, the ash on his body heating up as he ran beside the Soul Stream.

"This the end!"

"You're end, you cockroach!" Eugene would shout, deactivating his Soul Stream to summon his magic greatsword for a heavy swing on Nadar. The blow would hit, and he would watch with a grin as Nadar's health dropped like a rock, expecting the damage to be the final blow and claim his victory.

 _ **Chink!**_

His eyes would widen in shock as the sound of metal breaking was heard, and his attention was drawn to Nadar's hand as he reared his rapier back with a miraculous 1HP remaining. A broken ring was flying off his index finger, three other rings still present on him. Two of them were glowing brightly, one a vibrant and the other a torrent red, realization hitting the Darkwraith as the executioner closed the gap.

But with his last instincts kicking in, Eugene would rear the Moonlight Greatsword back and swing it at Nadar, expecting the timing of his attack to just beat Nadar's before a solid blow could strike him. But he was once again shocked into silence as Nadar revealed his gloved gear, a Caestus equipped over his gauntlet and used to parry his attack.

"You're speed is nothing compared to hers." Nadar growled as Eugene's entire avatar froze, his body locking in place as the riposte tome appeared on his HUD. "I didn't lose to her, and I won't lose to you!"

Impaling his rapier through the center of Eugene's chest, Nadar watched as a geyser of blood went off where his blade exited, the player's health dropping drastically from the boosted damage. And to prevent him from getting back up, the executioner would use his foot to trip the Darkwraith, activating the third ring on his hand.

And with a bellow of rage as his eyes glowed a violent red, Nadar slammed Eugene into the ground while his rapier pierced deeper in, the damage output doubling and depleting his health until it dropped all the way down to 0.

"He… hehehe…" As he laid down on the ground, his body slowly turning into ashes, all Eugene could do was chuckle in amusement. "GG, you damn punk."

As the rest of his body vanished, a single black soul remained, Nadar rising up and pulling his rapier out of the ground. He was panting hard, his adrenaline having been kicked in to overdrive from the intense last few seconds of the fight. But as the blood on his blade boiled away, all he could do was laugh, a weight being pulled off his shoulders as he swiped the rapier to his side for flare before sheathing in.

The whole area was silent, everyone only just being able to process what had just happened. For the first time ever, Eugene had been defeated, by a single opponent no less with his two greatest aces activated as well.

.

.

.

"Well done!" Raising her katana high, Sakuya was the one to break the silence, congratulating the executioner for his epic display of a victory.

"That was an amazing fight!" Alicia would cheer; the rest of the players from the two covenants all rushing with shouts of excitement as they moved to surround the player.

"That was unreal!"

"No one's ever managed to get Eugene to use the Moonlight Greatsword in a one on one battle, but even without knowing it you beat him!"

"Man, when I saw you throw your sword, I thought you were a goner!"

"You have to teach me that sometime!"

"Um, I-I-I-I… what are you… hold up…!" Nadar was temporarily overwhelmed as the players surrounded him, unable to respond as they all gave their praise for his victory.

"Welcome back Nadar." Amidst all the players chatter, Nadar picked up Hachiman's voice as he and the others walked past the group.

"Guys…" Nadar muttered as everyone was smiling, Yui pushing past everyone to jump and hug around his neck.

"You did it Uncle!"

"Haha, yeah I did!" He laughed, returning the hug and holding Yui up as she cheered in excitement and joy.

* * *

"You're sure you want to do this?" Sakuya asked as her hands glowed a bright gold, preparing a revive spell over Eugene's body.

"Sure, why not?" Nadar asked, Sachi and Hachiman standing to his sides as he did. "His men won't exactly leave unless he orders it."

"And if he just attacks us?"

"He won't."

"Very well." Sakuya nodded, the light around her hands expanded before forming into tendrils that wrapped around Eugene's humanity. Lifting it into the air, the tendrils grew and changed color, altering until; Eugene's body formed, the player having both his weapons holstered on his back.

Cracking his neck, Eugene would recollect himself from the revival process, both his men and the other players waiting anxiously. He would then stretch his arms, delaying the conversation to further increase the tension.

"Heh… not bad." He would chuckle, turning to Nadar with a smirk on his face. "I've been playing this game since it came out, and you're by far the strongest player I've ever encountered."

"Eh, I got a knack for stuff like this." Nadar grinned, crossing his reformed arms. "But you weren't any slouch yourself. I haven't been pushed that often. So then, ya gonna bug off?"

"You beat me in single's combat, and I am a man of my word." Eugene answered, turning to his men and motioned for them to pack up and leave. "Whether or not the Gravelord Servants may potentially be looking for an alliance, I wouldn't want to rush in if they have a player like you. Tell me, who are you really?"

"Well I am called Nadar, you can also call me Ain…" Stopping himself, Nadar prevented his known title from coming out, deciding a different one would be fitting for the time being. "You can call me the Gravelord's Executioner as well."

"Gravelord's Executioner huh? Sure, I'll buy that for now." Eugene smirked as he started to walk away, the Darkwraith stopping to give him one last stare. "Whatever you're doing, I want a rematch once your done. One where you fight like you used to, not this new style."

Everyone stared in surprise at his comment; all the while Nadar raised an eyebrow in confusion. But rather than investigate further, the executioner would simply shrug and nod.

"Sure, I'll accept a rematch. But don't expect it any time soon."

"Very well." Eugene nodded before walking into the tree line, disappearing from view along with his men.

"Such an edge lord."

"You have our thanks Nadar." Sakuya would say, the executioner turning to her as she and Alicia bowed. "Had you not shown up, I doubt we would've won."

"Yeah, I really saved your as-ack!" Nadar winced as Sachi elbowed his side, reminding him of the presence of Yui. "No problem…"

"So I gotta ask stud, are you really the Gravelord's Executioner?" Alicia would ask, smirking as she crossed her arms behind her head. "You're a total noob to this game, aren't you?"

"Obviously, why the hell would I be using basic weapons if I wasn't?" Nadar said, getting a tired sigh from Sakuya.

"God, and you went in for a fight against the best player in the game. You're something else Nadar."

"I have been called worse."

"Could I ask something?" Leafa spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "What did you do exactly? At the end of the duel, your health should've dropped to 0, and then your damage output skyrocketed past even what a regular riposte should be capable of."

"I can explain that." Vincent said, stepping up as he did. "Before we came in for our rescue mission-"

"Our?" Nadar raised an eyebrow. "I recall doing just about all of the work, you stood around and got thrown by me."

"Anyways…" Vincent would cough into his fist, continuing on what he said. "Before the fight, Nadar asked me for a few quick pieces of equipment. Aside from the Caestus on him, he asked for four specific rings."

"Red Tearstone, Blue Tearstone, Hornet Ring, and a Ring of Sacrifice." Nadar listed off, raising his hand to reveal the three lasting rings. "Read up a bit on the game, saw these rings and couldn't help myself."

"You sly punk, never thought you'd use a tactic like that." Hachiman laughed as he clapped. "Bravo, I completely forgot about the rings in Dark Souls, man I need to catch back up."

"Um… what do those do exactly?" Silica asked.

"The Hornet Ring is pretty straight forward, upon a riposte your critical damage is amplified. His parry was exactly what he needed to end the fight right away." Sakuya answered.

"Yeah, the other rings were his cheeky move." Alicia grinned. "The Red and Blue Tearstone Rings boost your attack and defense respectfully the lower your health gets. At 1HP the amount of damage he could do was ridiculous. If he had a dagger on hand it'd probably be even higher."

"Maybe, but the Ring of Sacrifice was the ace I needed." Nadar finished, looking to his finger missing its ring. "Since you keep your Souls when you die, they changed up the effects of it. Apparently in here it breaks when you reach 1HP, preventing a death."

"Not bad, it reminds me of your Full Force back then." Klein admitted, shrugging his shoulders as he sighed. "Damn, now you have it free to use on your hand without the downsides. Talk about being broken."

"I doubt it will work that well twice, especially with this having been live streamed." Nadar then blinked, looking over to Sakuya after his realization. "Oh by the way, do you have any idea who could've told them about this meeting?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"This raid, they knew exactly where you were. Hell, they were recruiting on forums specifically for this. Someone had to have told them, someone with insider information on one of the covenants. And since this hill's in your territory, I would figure they're from your side."

"Ah!" Recon shouted in panic, scratching his head with both hands. "I completely forgot to say it!"

"Never mind, I think we got our answers right here." Nadar sighed in disappointment. "Got a word for us Record."

"My name is Re-"

"Kid, I really don't care… just don't."

"What is it Recon?" Sakuya asked, looking to the player with a curious expression.

"When I was scouting earlier today, I came across two Darkwraiths in the sewers. They were talking with one of Siggard's party members. I wasn't sure about what they said, but I know for a fact that they talked about your meeting ma'am."

"Siggard?" Leafa asked in shock.

"That limp-wink that I completely floored?" Nadar added in.

"Y-Yeah, I wasn't sure on who exactly it was, but I'm positive that he was one of Siggard's friends."

"After that he came to me, and we gathered who we could." Vincent spoke up afterwards, crossing his arms as he looked to the two covenant leaders. "A lot of people were too nervous, I think Siggard threatened a chunk of our top players with being made heretics to prevent them from helping."

"Heresy charges, to think he would go so low." Sakuya would say in distaste. "I knew he was hating the shift in power, but to think he'd go so far."

"You had too loose of a leash, his ego got too big for his cage."

"Nadar!"

"No Leafa, he's right." Sakuya stated, admitting to her fault. "Siggard was always ambitious, it was why he rose in the ranks so fast. I respected his drive, but I ignored the dangers that would come from it, and he abused the trust I put in him."

"Want me to take him to the curb?" Nadar asked, cracking his knuckles with a grin. "I'll gladly put him back in his place."

"No, I will handle this matter personally. As with this matter." Sakuya then turned to Leafa and Anra. "You two were wronged, I can see you were banished for what I assume is the reason you're traveling with these players."

"I… yes we were." Leafa answered.

"Siggard warned us, but it didn't matter as long as we got to Anor Londo." Anra added in. "Playing would be near impossible with Hunters, but it was worth the risk then and it's worth it now."

"I see… you're determined to help them no matter what."

"People's lives are on the line, it's too important to ignore."

"I understand, and I wish there was more ways I could help." Sakuya said, pulling her menu up and going to her settings. "But all I can offer you is reinstatement into our covenant. The Hunters will stop and you'll once again be under our protection."

"Thank you Sakuya!" The two girls bowed, getting a laugh from her.

"I should be thanking you, you brought these players with you to help us. I just wish we could do something more."

"…Maybe you can." Sachi would say, stepping forward to the two leaders. "This meeting, it was for a plan to assault Anor Londo right?"

"Yeah, although if that's where you're going I'm afraid it will take awhile." Alicia informed. "At our current rate, we don't think we'll be ready until five, six days at the most."

"That'd be too late…"

"What do you need?" Nadar asked, standing next to Sachi with a determined glare.

"We have a roster for people to join, but we're lacking on funds for equipment and items." Sakuya stated. "Our current levels are decent, but if we attempted a raid we'd be wiped out by the Silver Knights' sheer numbers alone. We need to better stock up on everything."

Hearing the necessary requirement, Nadar would swipe across his menu and pull up his inventory. Tapping on his Souls, he would continue to add more and more on until stopping thirty seconds in, taking it out forming a large bag in his right hand.

"Will this be enough?" He'd ask, handing the currency to Alicia. The girl at first simply held out with both hands, but was shocked as the weight nearly tripped her up.

"Whoa, what the-!?" She gasped, tapping to check the number before her eyes widened in utter shock. "Sakuya, you won't believe this! There's over five million Souls in here!"

"Five million!" Sakuya said in contained surprise, looking to the executioner. "You're certain you'd give this willingly? You could build your own castle, hire a small army and even equip them with top tier loot with this much."

"Eh, I wasn't probably going to spend it on anything." He said, waving his hand in disinterest. "Just get your forces ready, you have two days to march out and meet us at Anor Londo."

"Two days, you're planning on going the whole distance now?"

"We don't have a choice. The sooner we get there, the better." Nadar spoke, turning and picking up Yui to sit her on his shoulders. "Come on everyone, we've wasted enough time here. We have to get as close as we can before midnight."

"Wait Nadar!" Leafa shouted, running after him while the others smiled, chasing after the executioner.

"That was impressive Nadar, I gotta admit even I thought you would lose when he went Embered on you." Hachiman admitted, walking next to him.

"Ha, yeah right!" Klein chuckled as he crossed his arms behind his head. "My Red Haired Bro had it in the bag! That punk might've had a few tricks up his sleeve, but Nadar's got raw guts and will! No way did he stand a chance!"

"Uncle's the strongest!"

"That he is." Sachi smiled as Yui pumped her fist up. "But he's also very observant, never thought I'd see combo from you."

"…It's a good move." Nadar said, looking down with a subtle smile.

"Almost perfectly matched it too, she would be proud to know you were paying attention to her footing."

"Could've stuck the landing better though." The two shared a laugh, reflecting on the boy's fighting style with his rapier.

They were far from being at the end, but the first challenge was beaten. And for the time being, the group would enjoy the moments of victory, knowing their next battle will be the most challenging one they encounter in this game.

 _'Watch your back Sugou!'_ Nadar thought, glaring up to the castle of Anor Londo that was visible far in the distance. _'You'll understand firsthand why I was the Executioner of Aincrad!'_


	32. The Next Push

"That looks like the last of them." Nadar would say, sheathing his greatsword after the last hollow fell and turned to dust.

The group had been traveling for several hours now, and has made good progress in reaching Anor Londo. The city was within reach, no less than an hour away from their current position. With a bonfire just in front of them, a short break and the continuation of their trek would have been the most efficient choice of travel.

However almost immediately after the last mob had been killed, there was a collective of yawns throughout the group. And those that didn't yawn looked completely exhausted, the long day starting to catch up to them.

"Nadar… I think we've gotten about as far as we can." Sachi said, rubbing her eyes as she walked up next to him. "I don't know how much longer any of us can stay up, we've been walking for almost seven hours now."

"Oh crap, it's that late?" Nadar responded, opening his menu to see that it was midnight. "Crap, that's why you've all been groaning my ears off, you're all barely staying awake, aren't you?"

"Yeah…"

"Kinda…"

"How did you not even notice?"

The group had all voiced their own complaint at the executioner, getting an embarrassed grin from him as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry guys, I guess I was in such a rush that I sort of lost track of time."

"I just can't believe you aren't tired at all." Hachiman grunted, slightly jealous at how well Nadar was able to remain focused and aware.

"Well he hasn't been playing as long as us… he's probably just got more energy." Klein would yawn, the group moving on to reach the next bonfire. "But it would've been nice if we had a bit of that energy."

"Ha, you wouldn't if you saw what it came with."

"Uncle, can you carry me?" Yui would request, the AI growing more tired as time passed. She didn't have a necessity for sleep, but the long day was proving to be taxing for even her, leading to her making the request.

"Of course Yui, hop on." He'd say, kneeling down to pick her up on his back to carry her piggyback. The AI sighed with content at getting the pressure off her feet, instantly relaxing and closing her eyes to rest on his back.

"God that's adorable, almost makes me not want to clock his lights for keeping us up this late…" Vincent would say. After the defeat of Eugene, both Vincent and Recon both chased after the group, wanting to help with whatever the team was heading out for. Although currently the shopkeeper was regretting the offer.

"It means a lot that you two came though… I really appreciate it." Leafa would say, yawning shortly after. She'd then take note of how full of energy Nadar still was, looking over to Silica who was sluggishly walking next to her after. "Was he always like this?"

"It was never fair how long he could stay up…" Silica whined. "Back in SAO everyone was certain he was a monster; he could wake up at five, go the entire day leveling and then go to sleep past midnight like it was second nature."

"Had a problem with sleeping, it happens to the best of us." Nadar spoke up, surprising the two as he heard their conversation.

"Sorry…"

"It's fine Sili."

The group would only walk for a few minutes before coming across the next bonfire, the break in the forest a few meters away with the walls and entrance to Anor Londo three hundred meters past it.

"We're so close…" Nadar would think, his eyes narrowing in determination as he looked to the massive entrance.

"Don't get too antsy, you need your sleep too." Klein said, punching Nadar's shoulder to get the executioner's attention. "We'll get right to work as soon as we get a good night's rest, technically morning's rest with how long you've kept us up."

"Hey, you all volunteered for this. I'm just taking advantage of it." Nadar responded, moving down to sit Yui down by the bonfire. "Besides I wasn't planning on storming the castle, just get along and see ahead what the hub looks like."

 _ **"** **Attention, this is a service announcement."**_ Before Nadar was done sitting the AI, a voice began to speak out from the bonfire, confusing half the players at the action. _**"The servers will be going through maintenance starting in an hour. The servers will be shut down for twelve hours for the duration. We ask that you please log off before the maintenance starts and have a nice day, we look forward to seeing you return when the servers are back up."**_

.

.

.

"You've got to be freaking kidding me…" Nadar would breathe out, closing his eyes as he seethed in annoyance.

"That might cause some problems." Anra groaned. "You gonna be okay with this?"

"Not exactly a lot I can do, even if I could talk to a dev Sugou probably has me blacklisted." He'd sigh, sitting next to Yui. "This gives everyone time to sleep though, so I'll live with it."

"Hey, we're almost there." Sachi would encourage, resting on Yui's other side. "I'm sure they'll understand why we'll take one more day."

"I know…"

"Well, I guess we better get off then." Hachiman would yawn, stretching out as he did. "See you tomorrow, Anra and I will be on as soon as the servers are up."

"Thanks." Nadar nodded, the two waving their send off before logging off.

"We should really follow, mom 'll throw a fit if she found out we were on for this long." Recon groaned, getting a confirming nod from Vincent.

Most of the group would leave after, everyone getting off in order to get some proper sleep back in the real world. By the end of it, the only players left were Leafa, Sachi and Nadar.

"Are you two going to be staying on longer?" Leafa would ask.

"Just to keep Yui company." Nadar answered, looking over to the two next to him to see the two lying on the ground. Sachi had her arms wrapped comfortingly around Yui, the AI having her eyes closed as she got comfortable in her mother's embrace.

"You really care about her."

"Well she's Sachi's daughter and my niece, so I'd hope we care about her." He then chuckled, resting his arm on his knee as he looked over to Leafa. "She's your niece too, so I hope you two were getting along when I wasn't here."

"Oh no, she's an angel and honestly sweet… it's just weird knowing she's an AI." Leafa admitted.

"That's fine, you're new to this craziness of our life." A comfortable silence then fell over the two, interrupted as Sachi fell asleep and her avatar faded away, leaving Nadar sitting next to the resting Yui.

"Well, if that's all for now, I should really get off. I get the idea tomorrow's going to be intense." Leafa would say, opening her menu to log out.

"Wait!" Nadar spoke up, getting the girl to pause just short of logging off. "Tomorrow's the weekend, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I was wondering if… I was planning on visiting a few of my friends from SAO who are still in physical therapy, and maybe go see Kirito after. I was wondering if you'd like to come, you know... to properly introduce you to the others your brother worked with?"

"Are you sure? I mean, not that I have a problem, but wouldn't you prefer some time to yourself?"

"I've spent the past three months by myself, even with everyone around I cut myself apart from them." His eyes would turn somber as he smiled. "I got a reminder that no matter how much I try, I'm not alone anymore. So I'd rather start by getting to know you better, you're Kirito's sister after all."

"…Sure." Leafa would respond, smiling back to him. "And maybe you could… tell me more about Kazuto when he was in SAO?"

"I'll give the short story now: he was the biggest pain in my ass."

The two would share a small laugh, the blonde avatar signing off shortly after while the executioner remained. When she was gone, Nadar would turn to look up at the massive castle, the tower protruding having his attention.

 _'Asuna…'_ He'd then reach up with his right hand, tightening it into a fist as he glared in determination. _'Wait for me.'_

"Uncle?" Yui mumbled, looking up to him as he reached out. "You're not getting off yet?"

"I'm not tired, and I know you'd be lonely." Nadar responded, lowering his hand as he looked down to his niece. "You've been alone for months, I don't want to leave you by yourself for longer than you need to."

"Are you sure Uncle? Your brainwaves are giving off high levels of stress and your heart rate is surprisingly high."

"Just… nerves is all." Nadar would say, gently placing his hand on her head with a small smile. "The fight with Eugene made me realize how sloppy I got in the past three months. I need to be better if I'm going to rescue everyone still trapped from SAO, especially for your daddy and auntie."

"You're scared."

"I am, but I don't have the luxury to deal with it." He said, running his hand through Yui's hair to relax her. "I have to save everyone first, then I'll deal with my own problems. This whole game, it's a product of Sword Art Online, which means everything here was built on the grounds of Kayaba's work. So I have to tear it down before it claims any more lives."

"SAO ended, but Aincrad still exists… doesn't it?" Yui questioned, getting an affirmative sigh from Nadar.

"Guess I'm still technically Aincrad's Executioner then, huh?"

"Will you be visiting Auntie later as well?" The AI would ask, seeing the distant look in Nadar's eyes grow sorrowful.

"…I can't." He admitted. "Sugou warned me to stay away from her. He likely has someone watching for me in the staff, which means I can't even… I just can't…" Nadar's hand on her head would begin to shake, the executioner looking down in shame as small tears began to form in his eyes.

"It's okay Uncle." The AI would say, getting up and wrapping her arms around him in a gentle embrace. "You'll be able to see Auntie again. No one's stronger than you, when you fight with your heart you can beat anything thrown at you."

"Thank you Yui." Nadar would whisper, hugging the AI back as he continued to shake. "I promise I'll break Asuna and Kirito out as soon as I can."

"You don't have to. I already know you will."

* * *

"So, you knew Kazuto longer than anyone in SAO?" Suguha would ask Asashi, the two walking through town.

"Well, technically Asuna and Hachiman knew him for the same amount of time as well, but in terms of being around him I hold the record." Asashi explained. "We were in the same party for nearly two years, ever since the first boss we worked together."

"That long… Sana and Saizo always said you knew him really well, but to think you probably know him more than I do."

"I know Kirito from SAO, not the Kazuto you know." Asashi responded. "The two of us… all of us went through a lot while trapped in Aincrad. So there's no doubt going to be some changes from what you remember. But there's no doubt in my mind he's still your big brother, he certainly started to act like it with a problem child like me tucked under his coat."

The boy would chuckle at his self-jab, trying to keep the mood light for Suguha before the pair stopped outside of a small building, a complex recently redesigned and outfitted to fit as physical therapy for survivors of SAO still struggling with their recovery.

"Well, they should be in here." Asashi would take a deep breath, mentally preparing himself more than anything before opening the door for Suguha.

Both would then enter to the padded floor, taking their shoes off to avoid tracking dirt in and placing them into separate cubbies. After a quick talk with the front desk, they'd walk to the back where a session was currently in place. Among the participants, Suguha immediately recognized Keiko, however as far as that went she couldn't put a name to many of the faces.

Asashi on the other hand had two others he knew by name, the rest he was aware of from his time in SAO. And as he watched on silently, he couldn't help but feel a ping of guilt at some, recognizing some as faces of players who lost friends; either directly because of him or from the raids. But he couldn't focus on those now, too much weighing on him to further show regret.

The two waited patiently for the session to be over, and when most of the participants were walking out they would walk up to Keiko and two of the others, the three staying back to talk.

"Well, well, well, look who we have ere'." One of the two spoke as she saw them approached, a cat-like grin growing on her face. "Nadar, long time no see. Almost din't believe Silica when she said ya' made it."

"Akamai, a real verbal pleasure as always." Asashi said with a faint smile, giving a wave to her. He'd then look to the third in the trio, another brown haired girl with tamed hair. "Rika, been awhile too."

"Yeah I'll say." Rika responded, crossing her arms as she looked up to the boy. "You up and vanish basically, not responding to any messages and then suddenly show up for a visit? What the hell's that about?"

"Right… sorry about that." He spoke awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "Things just hadn't been that great and I… I needed some time to think."

"Well, yer' ere' now, so that's a start." Akamai said with her usual grin, appearing amused before noticing Suguha standing beside him. "Who's the new girl? Got another sister you haven't told me about?"

"Haha, you're funny." Asashi replied with a dry tone before turning to Suguha, holding his hand out to the two. "Suguha, you already know Silica thanks to Sachi. The one sitting next to her is Rika Shinozaki, or as we know her better as Lisbeth or Liz. She was the most adequate blacksmith in all of Aincrad."

"Adequate!? You take that back you cheap-shotting, project breaking, no good trickster!" Rika growled, rolling up her sleeve while Keiko tried to keep her tame.

"There, there Liz, I'm sure he doesn't mean it. You were the best blacksmith period."

"Yeah, I have yet to get an axe from her that didn't break, so that's up for debate."

"Let me at him!" Rika would shout, being held back by Keiko who appeared concerned.

"Liz you know you can't! Please, think happy thoughts! Happy thoughts!"

"And the rough looking one with the need for flare and difficulty to understand is Akamai Namarashi. She was the best info broker there was, and lacked the humility to boot."

"Oh so you'll say she's the best, but never admit that I made the most kickass axe you ever held!?"

"Her info helped, your axes broke."

"Ya' can just call me Argo." Akamai spoke up past the blacksmith's anger, holding her hand out for a handshake. "Pleasure ta' meet ya'."

"O-Oh, I feel the same." Suguha responded, awkwardly accepting the handshake.

"Careful, she'll rob you blind with her ridiculous prices." Asashi whispered, warning the girl about Akamai's infamous reputation.

"Oi, don't go spreadin' slander like that."

"It ain't slander if it's true."

"Then everything you said about me is slander!" Rika picked up, stepping right up to Asashi while pointing her finger at him.

"Are you still hung up by that?"

"I'll drop it once you admit the truth!"

"Alright, alright, I give." Asashi said, holding his hands in mock surrender as he looked to the side. "You were the best blacksmith in all of Aincrad." The executioner would then smirk, getting a measuring gaze from the girl as he continued. "For getting mediocre weapons."

"That's it!" Rika announced, Asashi jumping back to avoid her grabbing him before taking off around the room, the blacksmith in tow as she attempted to catch him. "I'll kick your ass, you freaking defamer!"

"I'd like to see you try!" He responded, not looking back as he ran out of her reach.

"Liz, Nadar please stop!" Keiko cried out as she ran after the two, comedically trying to keep up as they ran all over the padded room.

"He looks like he's doing much better." Suguha laughed awkwardly, not expecting such a childish interaction between the three.

"Yeah, he'd give that idea, wouldn't he?" Akamai responded, sighing in disappointment while crossing her arms. "He really knows how to put a solid face on, don't he?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've worked with him fer' two years, I can tell when he's puttin' up a face." She would explain, her eyes down casted slightly before looking over to Suguha. "Yer' helping him with somethin' big, right?"

"What makes you say that?"

"It's tough gettin' Nadar ta' work with ya'." She shrugged. "So either ya' knew him before, which I doubt, or ya' got somethin' important he need's help with."

"Well I… he knew my brother." Suguha would admit, figuring telling Akamai wouldn't be that much of an issue.

"Kirito? That makes sense now." The info-broker would nod, surprising her at the immediate guess without any further context. "Nadar was a loner, only a few people ere' by his side through most of SAO. Kirito, Hachiman, Sachi, Silica, Klein, Agil, myself an' Asuna. An' ya' certainly don't look like any of em' except for Kirito."

"That's… pretty good reasoning, actually."

"Eh, it's a gift." Akamai shrugged, turning back to the three others as Rika chased the executioner. "Keep an' eye on him, would ya'? I'm sure ya' noticed, but Nadar doesn't look out fer' himself well. He'll need a more tame mind to look after him if yer' both doin' somethin' important."

"But why me?" Suguha asked, looking to the younger girl. "Wouldn't Sana or Saizo be the better choice? You said it yourself, they've known him much longer."

"Yeah, but they can't quite reign him in. Asuna an' Kirito were the only one's who could muzzle that bark." Akamai then pointed from her crossed arms to Suguha, her smirk returning as she did. "An' since neither are ere' for that, it leaves ya'. Since yer' Kirito's little sis an' all."

"You really think that? That he'd trust me?"

"He asked ya' to help in the first place, didn't he?" The info-broker returned. "He trusts ya'. Which means he already trusts ya' more than he trusts himself."

"Trusts me more than himself?" Suguha would echo, turning her attention back to Asashi in time for him to trip in the middle of his escape from Rika.

Both Rika and Keiko would both panic when he fell, going down next to him as he turned over from landing on his arms. There were visible bruises, but a second after sitting up Asashi couldn't help but laugh, relaxing the others and getting laughter from them as well.

 _'What did he go through? What didn't Sana and Seizo tell me?'_

* * *

"Well, well, the man of the hour." Asashi would say, opening the door to Kazuto's hospital room. He then stood in while keeping the door open, letting Suguha in to sit on the chair next to his bed while he remained standing. "He's looking well."

"His doctors say that his condition is surprisingly stable, although his brainwave and heartbeat are up higher than most of the average players for some reason." Suguha would explain, looking to Kazuto's sleeping form with a somber stare. "They can't tell why."

"Well it's obvious, he's trying to get out." Asashi stated, closing the door before walking to the other side of Kirito's bed. "Kirito was one of the best of us in SAO. A skilled swordsman and a good leader. Got spoiled a bit by Sachi, but he never lost his edge throughout the entire game. And to top it all of, guy's will to win was unlike anything I've seen. He did beat Kayaba after all."

"What about you?" Suguha would ask, confusing him as she looked to him. "I mean, I heard a lot from Saizo and Sana, but recently I've heard different from you and Akamai. It's hard to tell who can give the best evidence between them, but I want to know your full belief on what you were like. Maybe then I can understand why Kazuto…"

"I get it." Asashi sighed, looking down to Kazuto with a matching somber expression to Suguha's. "Well, I'm not going to be too emotional about it. I have my own bias like Sachi and Hachiman but I'm going to put it as it is."

"I was a real piece of shit. A thug, a brute, a loner; I was a real prick to just about everyone I came across in the game. Kirito included." Asashi chuckled, unable to hide a small smirk. "I had gotten a quick reputation in the game and I earned it, one bad enough I drew instant hostility from everyone."

"At first I was just known as the first murderer of Aincrad, but that soon changed when criminal players came around. I became an executioner, going on missions to hunt after criminals and kill then. It would've been easy to write me off as a lost cause and leave me to destroy myself."

"Luckily for me, I had people who wouldn't allow that." The boy would then smile, looking over to Suguha as he recalled the days in SAO. "Sachi, Klein, Agil, Silica and even Argo were great means of keeping my spirit up. But the people who gave me the chance to change first were them: Kirito, Asuna and Hachiman. Without them… I would've gone under long ago."

"You know everyone gives credit to Asuna, she was the one I fell for after all and responsible for my biggest change throughout Aincrad. But you know, I think I owe Kirito and Hachiman the most in actuality."

"You would?"

"Asuna gave me a reason to live, but they gave me the opportunity to fight for something more. When we first met, we were forming a party for the raid against Illfang. Kirito allowed me to join up with them, and Hachiman was the first to stand by me when the fight was over. Hehe, he saw through my bad guy routine pretty easily, Kirito took awhile though."

"Did you two get along?" She would ask. "I know everyone says you were like brothers, but even siblings have serious arguments. Some that can… tear them apart."

"I know where you're going with this, and I'll tell you the same damn thing everyone else did." Asashi would instantly draw, knowing where the girl was going in her questions. "Kiri… Kazuto never hated you. You have to be a real piece of shit to get him to hate you. And he regretted what he did to you, it's what drove him."

"So then you know what he really is to me?"

"Yeah, he's your big brother." He would then hold a hand up, interrupting Suguha from speaking. "I don't want to hear that "we're cousins" crap. You two grew up together, and even if the discovery of you and your mom not being his direct family drove you apart initially, it didn't change what you two were."

"Believe me, you two didn't have anything that separated the relationship between you two. Me and him, we had fights. Bad enough that it got him to punch me in the face once or twice, and I usually threatened to kill him every other day when Sachi came around. But you two, not for a single second did you stop being brother and sister."

"But then why trust me? I know I was aware of DSO, but you've started to put so much faith in me, more than you should. I'm not strong like Kazuto or you, I don't have that experience in fighting for something the way you do." Suguha would argue, her confusion growing as she tried to think about it. "Argo said you trusted me more than you did yourself, but how could you? We barely know each other. You knew Kazuto, not me."

"I trust you because I know I can." Asashi answered. "Suguha, I am not strong. The fact I can fight didn't make me strong and it still doesn't. That strength, the power I have in VR is all a façade. It isn't real. But you're different than me; you wear your heart on your sleeve and fight with passion. For god's sake, you're incredible in kendo and a great swordswoman. And most importantly, you're a caring person."

Suguha was then surprised when she felt a hand placed on her head, turning to her side to see that Asashi walked around to stand beside her. She couldn't explain it, but the feeling of his hand on her head felt familiar, a sense of nostalgia she had long forgotten.

"You're a lot more like your brother than you think, and that's why I trust you." Asashi said with a smile, taking his hand off her head. "You volunteered to a one in a million shot at helping everyone, mostly people you don't know. That alone shows who you really are. I could learn a thing or two from you."

 _'You've gotten really good Sugu, I could learn a thing or two from you.'_

"…Thank you." Suguha would say quietly, wiping her eyes to recollect herself before looking up with her own smile. "I won't let you down!"

"That's my line." Asashi would chuckle, helping Suguha stand up from her chair. "You have nothing to prove, you're already strong. I on the other hand have a long way to go." Suguha's phone would then begin to ring, confusing the two as she pulled it out from her bag. "Expecting a call?"

"No, I wasn't." She would say, seeing the caller I.D. "It's Saizo, he wants to have a video chat." She would then answer the call, connecting to Saizo and revealing his face. "Hey Saizo, is there something going on?"

 _"Kinda, yeah."_ The boy would say with a grin, appearing excited as he took a second to look behind him. _"You said Nadar's with him right?"_

 _"He said he was heading out with her for a visit to Kirito before he went out, so I'd say so."_ Both Suguha and Asashi would tilt their heads in confusion, hearing Klein's voice on the other end.

 _"We also saw them a little earlier, no question he's with her."_

 _'Keiko?'_

"Okay why talk behind our backs?" Asashi asked, Suguha moving her head a bit so that he could fit into the camera. "Yeah, I'm here. Why bother Suguha with a call when you're looking for me?"

 _"We wanted to make sure you were both together, so that this could be a real gathering."_ Saizo explained, his grin widening as he looked off screen again. _"Can you hold this for me please?"_

 _"Of course."_

 _'That's Kathy.'_ Nadar recognized the voice, watching as the camera shifted on Saizo's side for several seconds. But when it finally stopped and recollected, his eyes would widen in shock.

 _"S_ _urprise!"_ Saizo, Sara, Sana, Keiko, Rika, Ryoutarou and Andrew would all say, standing in front of the camera. All of them were in Asuna's hospital room, the group even bringing a wide assortment of flowers as well when they came in.

"Wh-What is… hold how did you… w-w-w-when… what?" Asashi could barely speak, confused and caught off guard by the sight of everyone. "W-What are you guys doing… doing there…?"

 _"Well, a little lady sent me a message saying you weren't allowed to see your soul mate by a certain jerk."_ Ryoutarou would speak up, his grin the widest of the group's as he held his own phone out. _"So I thought it would be nice for us to give Asuna her own little visit, since her favorite couldn't. And this way, you don't have to worry about getting in trouble by seeing her."_

 _"Sorry I told everyone Uncle, but you were just so sad I couldn't ignore it."_ The pair were then surprised as Yui's voice was heard, a third contact popping up albeit without any picture. _"I made sure Klein knew and came up with the plan to have us call when you were with daddy!"_

 _"You should have told us you weren't allowed to see her, we would've done this sooner if we did."_ Sana said with a smile, Keiko nodding enthusiastically as she did.

 _"You got to stop making it hard to do nice things for you tough guy."_ Rika added in, putting her arms around both Sana and Keiko.

"Y…You guys actually…" Asashi would choke up, barely holding in his tears as he looked to see Asuna. "Thank you."

 _"Anytime kid, we'll do this again same time tomorrow as well. As long as it takes to get them out."_ Andrew said, giving a thumbs up to the executioner with a genuine smile. _"Just say the word and we'll get together like this."_

"Thank you… but I… that won't be necessary." Asashi said, stepping away from the camera for a second to wipe his eyes, preventing the chance for their to be tears before coming back, looking forward in determination. "Because the next time we go back in, we're bringing them out."

 _"Damn right!"_ Ryoutarou grinned.

"Oi! Watch your language! Yui's on call still!"

 _"Whoops!"_

* * *

"Alright, I'm in." Hachiman would say, sitting up from the bonfire as he got on to DSO. Looking around, he appeared to be the first, standing up and keeping watch at the forest line as everyone would get on.

Sachi and Silica were next to get on, giving the player a nod and wave before getting into similar positions. Klein and Anra were on then soon after, most of the group all together now as they relaxed more with strength in numbers.

"So who's left?" Klein asked, taking a head count of everyone. "Anra, Hachiman, Sachi and Silica. Only five of us?"

"Yeah I know, a little weird." Hachiman admitted. "Leafa and Nadar were with each other, and Kirito's hospital is closer to your places than Asuna was to ours. Was he back in his room?"

"No, actually he wasn't." The samurai crossed his arms, looking to the side in concern. "His NerveGear was gone though, as well as Agil's copy of DSO that he borrowed."

"Maybe he just logged in somewhere else?" Anra threw in.

"I mean, it is the most likely, just seems weird not to tell any of us." Sachi responded. "Not that it isn't new, I just thought he'd be a little more open now."

"Hey guys!" The group was taken out of their conversation as they heard someone call out to them, turning to see Recon and Vincent jogging towards them from Anor Londo.

"Recon? Vincent? What were you two doing in town before us?" Silica would ask, the two stopping in front of the group.

"S-Sorry, the moment the servers went live again Leafa called us and told us to meet her." Recon would say, panting lightly from running all over the place.

"What for?" Hachiman asked.

"Equipment checkup." Vincent answered, tapping his thumb on his shoulder. "Mr. Judgmental wanted to update his weapons, said he wanted to make it more "personal" before going to the Invasion quest."

"Personal huh?" Hachiman would mutter, a smirk growing on his face as he looked to the city's entrance. "Nadar you sly bastard."

"Hachiman?"

"Well come on, can't keep the guy waiting!" The mage would state, taking off for Anor Londo.

"Wait Saizo!" Anra would call out, chasing after him.

"Well, he's got a point there." Klein shrugged, Silica and Sachi laughing at the mage's enthusiasm before running for the group as well.

"God, what I wouldn't give for that kind of energy." Vincent sighed, shaking his head before running for the group. "Come on Recon!"

"Why is it that since that guy showed up we can never simply take a break?" Recon complained, groaning before running back into Anor Londo.

The group all ran as fast as they could, easily picking up the pace after passing through the gates of Anor Londo. To the players all around the hub area, they would stare in confusion at the different factions all represented in the group, wondering just what had them all hyped up.

They would only need to run for two minutes before seeing Nadar, Yui and Leafa, both standing at a massive gate the had a imposing staircase that went up to the castle of Anor Londo. Just taking a look at Nadar told everyone what they needed to know, his executioner greatsword replaced with a massive silver axe, the pole arm reaching near his body length.

 _'Now he's getting serious.'_ Hachiman thought with a wide grin, seeing the ghost of Nadar's SAO avatar appear next to him for a second before vanishing, the player turning to see everyone running.

"About time you slowpokes caught up." The executioner would say, smirking to them as they approached. "Was beginning to think I'd have to save everyone by myself again."

"And let you get all the bragging rights?" Klein chuckled, punching his shoulder. "Not on your life buddy. You just need to learn to take a step back before jumping."

"Pretty sure a running start's better for that."

"So… this is it?" Sachi asked, getting her brother to turn to him. "Kirito and Asuna, we get them out?"

"Yeah." Nadar nodded, giving a small smile to his sister.

"Don't worry mommy, Uncle's going to bring everyone back." Yui said, smiling brightly as she did. "And we're going to help him."

"Yes, we are." Sachi responded, hugging Yui to steel herself.

 _'Kirito, we'll get you back soon.'_

"Once we go through, it's likely going to be hell fighting." Hachiman reminded Nadar. "No one's beaten it yet, and they've had forces ten times our size with the best equipment."

"You sound excited." Nadar called out, the two bumping fists as they grinned. "Underestimating us Black Cats?"

"We've beaten worse, this'll be a cakewalk." Hachiman returned, although the kept their fists together for a second longer, giving the mage the chance to speak further. "It's good to be back."

"You never left." The executioner said, the two separating their fists before looking to the gate. "Let's beat this and bring everyone home."

"Right!" Everyone nodded, staring at determination as Nadar and Sachi walked up to the gate, placing a hand on each side before pushing forward.

 _'No more hesitation. It's time to break this game.'_

* * *

At the top of the tower in the prison, Asuna and Kirito were both lying on their beds, the latter of the two breathing heavy as he looked up to the ceiling. Once they were caught, he had gone back to swinging at the bars, still doing nothing but feeling the need to do something. It killed him unable to do anything more than hit aimlessly.

Meanwhile Asuna had her eyes closed as she thought to herself, trying to figure out what she could possibly do with the keycard she grabbed. Without an admin console it was completely useless, not even having item details to find a loophole in. It was simply no more than a wild card at this point, held on just on the hope she could figure something out.

The silence the two shared would be interrupted as the sound of metal striking against metal as heard, confusing the two and getting them to turn to each other.

"Did you hit your bars again?"

"No, you didn't hit yours?"

A second shriek of metal clashing got them to sit up on their beds, the third causing their eyes to widen before running to the barred windows to look down. Over the past three months, they had been around for a few of the raids players would put together to challenge the castle. And each time they'd be able to see the horde of players.

But this time there was no horde, not even enough to be visible outside tiny dots on the pale concrete that made up the staircase. And upon realizing the only people who would possibly take on such a challenge by themselves, the two trapped players couldn't help but smile.

"They're here." Kirito said with a grin, tightening his grip on his bars as he looked down. "Sachi… Nadar, you made it here. About time you slowpokes."

"Nadar… Asuna would smile, looking to the furthest forward player among the small group. She couldn't make out the details, but she knew it had to be him, she could feel it. She had a single hand on the bars, feeling tears begin to escape her eyes as she felt truly relieved, now completely certain of the executioner's survival.

"Hey, there was no doubt." Asuna would look over to Kirito after he spoke up, the swordsman having read Asuna's face. "Like hell he'd let himself die when you got trapped in here."

"Yeah, I know." She said, wiping her eyes as she looked back down. "I just… I wish there was something we could do."

"I get that feeling, I hate being so helpless." The swordsman growled, punching the bar in anger. "Sachi and the others shouldn't have to fight this on their own, what I wouldn't give to have a sword and get down there!"

"I know, but Sugou has too much security on us now." Asuna responded, looking to their cages with symbols now present over the lock on the outside. Getting out was impossible for them now, it had to be done from the outside to even have a chance, and it required admin privileges to be accessible.

Asuna's eyes then widened in realization as she looked back down, seeing the others making progress as they traded blows with the Silver Knights scattered across the staircase. Going back to her bed, she'd flip all the covers off to find the keycard she stole, picking it up and looking at the grey item.

 _'Nadar, you came all this way to help us.'_ She'd think, running her thumb over the keycard before looking up in determination. _'I don't know what this will do, but I believe if anyone can find a way to use this, it's you.'_

"Good luck."

* * *

 **(A/N): I feel I've been saying this too much in regards to this story, but sorry for such a long wait. To be perfectly honest, I was initially excited for this arc as I wanted to get it right. But as I wrote the spark kind of died a little, as the arc itself felt extremely forced in terms of length and it got difficult to find ways to fix certain parts, although some were easy decisions. Not only that, but the two arcs I'm currently excited on writing the most is the Phantom Bullet and Ordinal Scale movie. I enjoy parts in between, but these two the arcs that actually inspired me to write Aincrad's Executioner in the first place.**

 **But I know this arc is especially important, as it holds an important development that Nadar needs to grow more as a character. Which is why I simply couldn't skip it and avoid the certain difficulties that came with the arc. I'm not disappointed in what I've written, I just felt I could've done better if it was different. But that ship's sailed, and I aim to make the next two chapters to be the best that I can write. I've said it before, but these next two are ones I've been looking forward to.**

 **I hope this chapter was entertaining enough and I hope to see you in the next chapter. Peace!**


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